14 DAY TRIAL // This image, taken on March 28 by a member of the Expedition 30 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS), shows an European spacecraft on its final approach to the orbital lab. Spotlights are being used by both vehicles to illuminate their respective points of contact.
The European Space Agency's (ESA) third Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-3) is called Edoardo Amaldi. Like all of its predecessors, it is an unmanned, automated cargo-transfer vehicle, which is capable of docking to the ISS automatically.
The lower background of the image is filled with a greenish-brown haze, an effect produced by intensive illumination from urban centers on the surface. The upper part of the background shows countless stars. Edoardo Amaldi looks like a futuristic spacecraft from this angle.
In all, ATV-3 delivered 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of oxygen, 628 pounds (285 kg.) of water, 4.5 tons of propellant and nearly 2.5 tons of dry cargo. It was the heaviest vehicle ever to launch aboard an Ariane V rocket.