Succeful launch of the four ATV, Albert Einstein

06 June 2013

Integrated Cargo Carrier provided by Thales Alenia Space

Cannes, June 6th, 2013 The European Space Agency's fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), named in honor of famous scientist Albert Einstein, was successfully launched by Arianespace from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

ATV cargo spacecraft deliver supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). They are built by European industry, led by Astrium as prime contractor, on behalf of the European Space Agency as part of its contribution to the International Space Station (ISS). The Italian space agency has been involved in this program from the outset.

The unmanned ATV will automatically dock with the ISS, to transfer experimental equipment, spare parts, food, air and water for the crew. The pressurized ICC (Integrated Cargo Carrier) module, built by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, carries over two tons of cargo, 860 kg of propellant to be transferred to the ISS, 540 kg of water, also produced in Turin by SMAT, and 100 kg of gases. The ATV cargo transfer operations will be carried out by the ISS crew using control and monitoring systems in the ICC service module, also developed by Thales Alenia Space.

Thales Alenia Space recently announced that it has completed integration of the ICC for the fifth ATV, named after Belgian scientist Georges Lema tre. It was shipped from Thales Alenia Space's integration center in Turin, Italy, to Astrium in Bremen, Germany. After undergoing a series of tests, ATV5 will be shipped to the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, for a launch to the International Space Station slated for 2014.

Thales Alenia Space is a major contributor to the ATV program, especially our Turin plant, said Luigi Maria Quaglino, Senior Vice President, Exploration and Science. This program is now drawing to a close, and we are very proud of the important role we have played since the beginning.

Today, with the operating life of the International Space Station being extended to 2020, Thales Alenia Space is also building nine Pressurized Cargo Modules (PCM) for the Cygnus spacecraft that will subsequently transport cargo to the ISS, as part of the CRS (Commercial Resupply Services) contract awarded by NASA to Orbital Sciences. At the same time, because of its long-standing experience with pressurized cargo modules, Thales Alenia Space was chosen to participate in the construction of NASAs new Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), Orion.

Thales Alenia Space is also developing the IXV (Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle) atmospheric reentry system for ESA, and has signed a contract for the development of EXPERT (EXPErimental Reentry Testbed), to support research on atmospheric reentry technologies.

About Thales Alenia Space

The European leader in satellite systems and a major player in orbital infrastructures, Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%). Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio embody the two groups' Space Alliance . Thales Alenia Space sets the global standard in solutions for space telecommunications, radar and optical Earth observation, defence and security, navigation and science. With consolidated revenues of 2.1 billion euros in 2012, Thales Alenia Space has 7,500 employees in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium and United States.

www.thalesaleniaspace.com

Thales Alenia Space Press Contacts:

Sandrine Bielecki - Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 70 94

sandrine.bielecki@thalesaleniaspace.com

Tarik Lahlou - Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 68 45

tarik.lahlou@thalesaleniaspace.com

Tiziana Ebano - Tel: +39 06 41512574

tiziana.ebano@thalesaleniaspace.com

LINK:	http://www.thalesgroup.com/Press_Releases/Markets/Space/2013/Successfu...
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