The International Space Station
Flawless launch for Europe's automated space freighter (click on title to entry)
Craft ferries supplies to orbiting astronauts
20-tonne vehicle will take over role of Nasa's shuttle
A space freighter loaded with crucial supplies and an ageing copy of a Jules Verne novel thundered into orbit in the early hours of yesterday on its maiden voyage to the International Space Station.
Officials celebrated what they described as a flawless launch of the 20-tonne Automated Transfer Vehicle as it lit up the night sky before clearing the thick cloud cover that hung over the European Space Agency's damp, forest-bordered spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana at 4.03GMT.
Unusually, the take-off had to be timed to the second, to ensure the ATV would be released into an orbit that exactly matches that of the space station. Seconds after launch, the rocket turned north-east on to a trajectory that took it over the southern tip of Britain and onwards towards the Pacific.
"It was a perfect launch: everything was right on the spot to the point that it was boring, and that is exactly what we hoped for. We have separated from the rocket, we have the solar panels deployed, and we have power," said Alan Thirkettle, the European Space Agency's programme manager for the International Space Station....
