 |
|
 |
With the space shuttle set to retire in 2010, the ATV, the largest automated space vehicle ever, arrives just in time to keep the International Space Station stocked. Using a star tracker and GPS to navigate to within 1,000 feet of the station, it will close the gap with pulsed laser beams reflected from the station that help it to calculate relative speed and distance. The 1,700-cubic-foot cargo ship, completed this year and set to launch next month, will dock with the station and remain an integral, pressurized part of it for up to six months. esa.int
|
|
|
|
