Today's CAM (Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre) test went smoothly! At 14:30 CET today, a command to initiate the test was sent up to Jules Verne from the ATV Control Centre (ATV-CC) in Toulouse, France. The test included checking if the back-up functional chains - commanded by the Monitoring Safety Units (MSU 1 & 2; there are two of them) - worked, and they did. ESA's Mission Director Alberto Novelli called in at 17:30 CET this afternoon for a telephone report - listen to the mp3 audio under 'Full story'. -- Daniel

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Friday is shaping up as a critical day for ATV Jules Verne and the mission controllers at ATV-CC in Toulouse. The day includes a live test of the CAM (Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre) system, and the spacecraft will actually be 'induced' into a non-nominal, 'survival' mode while it relies solely on the CAM system. Of course, it's still a long way from the ISS so there's no danger to any astronauts, but mission controllers will be watching very closely as the test runs its course. Here's an audio description of the CAM system and its functioning from ESA's Bob Chesson. -- Daniel

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We've got a series of great mp3 audio clips from a telephone call with ESA's Bob Chesson with a detailed explanation on the propoulsion problem involving the PDE (Propulsion Drive Electronics) that caused excitement on Sunday evening, shortly after orbit injection. The problem's now solved, but Bob mentions what caused the issue to occur, the solution and the incredible teamwork (Astrium, ESA, CNES) behind devising and implementing the fix (click on 'Full story' to access mp3 links). -- Daniel

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We're working today on a couple of updates, including news of the CAM (Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre) test scheduled for this morning, and preparations for tomorrow's CAM demonstration. Plus: An mp3 audio interview with ESA's Bob Chesson. -- Daniel