14 DAY TRIAL // Next Tuesday, on September 25, the third European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-3), called Edoardo Amaldi, will depart from the International Space Station, and meet its fiery end in Earth's upper atmosphere. NASA TV will broadcast the maneuver live, starting at 6:15 pm EDT (2215 GMT).
Currently, Amaldi is attached to the aft port of the Russian-built Zvezda module. Docking occurred on March 28, at 2251 GMT, after the 13-ton spacecraft launched on March 23. It took off aboard an Ariane V rocket, from the ELA-3 launch site at the Kourou Spaceport, in French Guiana, South America.
ATV-3 has already been filled with trash, which will burn up high above the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, it will conduct a series of scientific measurements during descent, using its onboard Re-entry Breakup Recorder (REBR).
The European Space Agency (ESA), which operates the ATV fleet, says that the next resupply capsule will be launched towards the ISS in February 2013. ATV-4 will be called Albert Einstein.