14 DAY TRIAL // Officials with the European Space Agency (ESA) have recently announced that the fifth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) they will send to the International Space Station (ISS) will carry with it a new suit of sensors capable of controlling its approach and docking to the space lab. ATV5 is currently scheduled to launch into space sometime in June.
This will be the last ISS resupply mission of the ATV Program, as only 5 of these capsules were planned at ESA when the project began. There are several plans to continue developing these spacecraft further, but the most promising ones are as miniature research laboratories in space, and as service modules for the NASA Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV).
In addition to the usual propellant, water, air, and dry cargo, ATV5 will also carry the Laser InfraRed Imaging Sensors (LIRIS), which is an experiment meant to test the efficiency of using Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) optical methods and infrared cameras to make a safe approach to the ISS. ATV capsules currently use GPS navigation and optical sensors to reach the station.
The infrared camera that will fly on Georges Lemaître was provided by French company Sodern, while the LIDAR instrument was developed by Jena-Optronik, in Germany. Both instruments are currently being integrated inside the spacecraft in the assembly building at the ESA Kourou Spaceport, in French Guiana, South America.