ATV Johannes Kepler gears up for space journey Step by step,
ESA’s latest Automated Transfer Vehicle space ferry is being
taken through all the tests to prepare for launch early next
year from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. So far,
all systems are 'go'. The heaviest and most complex space
vehicle ever developed in Europe is being prepared for its next
supply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). ATV-2,
named after the German astronomer and mathematician Johannes
Kepler, is undergoing its last checkouts. While two thirds of
the ESA and NASA dry cargo is already loaded, the final flight
software will be loaded into the onboard computer. The teams at
the ATV Control Centre in Toulouse, France, are verifying the
data transmission and the commands to handle the mission in
orbit. By the end of the month, the service module, containing
the propulsion and control systems, will be mated with the
pressurised cargo carrier. With the solar wings folded against
its body, this will give ATV-2 its