14 DAY TRIAL // Turn your eyes towards the sky once again tonight and observe a unique spectacle of lights, as the International Space Station, the Jules Verne ATV and the space shuttle Endeavor will be located in the same region of the night sky. The triple sighting will only be available on the night of March 25, since tomorrow the space shuttle Endeavor will depart with the ISS and re-enter the atmosphere to return to Earth. On Sunday, Endeavor has completed its 12-day mission to the ISS, undocked yesterday and is expected to land tomorrow night at the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida.
The Automated Transfer Vehicles Jules Verne has arrived to the ISS and is expected to dock on April 3rd, meaning you will be able to view it for at least another 9 days in the company of the space station. It is currently positioned 2,000 kilometers in front of the space station in Earth's orbit, in a parking position waiting for Endeavor's departure to begin approach demonstration maneuvers to the ISS.
On a clear sky, the Jules Verne ATV would appear to skywatchers as a star bearing a magnitude of 2.8, while the International Space Station will have an apparent magnitude of -1.3, because it is much larger than the ATV. Endeavor will appear much brighter that the Jules Verne, however still not bright enough to overpower the space station.
The Jules Verne will be observed first on the south-southwestern sky, with an apparent magnitude of 2.8 and a maximum elevation of 30 degrees above the horizon, in relation to central Illinois at about 8:31:59 p.m. CDT. 4.5 minutes later, the ISS will rise above the same region of the horizon, will appear as a -1.3 magnitude star and will reach a maximum elevation of 31 degrees.
The Jules Verne ATV is in its first mission to the ISS and will act as a re-supply ship to the space station for the years to come. The ATV is completely automated, unmanned and is replacing the faithful Russian build Progress freighters that served the ISS in the previous years.