A quick update: there's a report on the ESA web portal on ATV! The highlight info is:
An absolutely perfect launch brought Jules Verne
ATV into orbit after a textbook countdown and mission of the Ariane 5
launcher. All the events occurred on time, the multiple re-ignition of
the specially designed Ariane 5 upper stage went off absolutely as
predicted. Jules Verne ATV separated as foreseen and was injected in
the correct orbit. Communication between the spacecraft and the ATV
Control Centre in Toulouse confirmed that the spacecraft was responding
nominally.
All navigation systems onboard, the star-trackers, the GPS system
are working nominally and the solar arrays, which deployed very
smoothly, are delivering full power. However the spacecraft on board
computers detected a slight difference in pressure between the oxidizer
and the fuel that compose the propellant. This caused the ATV to
immediately switch over to the second of four propulsion chains, as it
is designed to do.
Click on 'Full story' for original link and access to mp3 audio of today's press conference in Kourou.
We're off to catch up on sleep! We'll be back on tomorrow for an update on mission progress. Thanks for your fantastic traffic and keen comments... -- the Bloggers
I also managed to get hold of Alan Thirkettle, ESA’s ISS Programme Manager, shortly after confirmation of solar array deployment. Here’s what he had to say about today’s events.
--Maria
After the launch, ESA's Director General, Jean-Jacques Dordain, spoke at Kourou on the successful start of Jules Verne, the first ATV mission. Many thanks to our colleagues at DLR for assisting with the mp3 recording. -- Daniel
I managed to get a reaction from John Ellwood, ESA's ATV Project Manager, to today's successful launch of Jules Verne ATV. (Click 'Full story' to read...)
--Maria
A quick, final report from ESA's Santa Maria station: everything went great! Gerhard Billig, from ESOC here in Darmstadt, was at the station this AM and he told me that telemetry was successfully downloaded during both passes. You can hear his telephone report below. -- Daniel
ESA's Bob Chesson at ATV-CC just sent in a note: ATV's Proximity Link Antenna (vital for communicating with the ISS) is deployed and the star trackers are OK. More details on ATV navigation aids at the link below. -- Daniel
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