The Georges Lemaître ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle 5 (ATV-5), was a European uncrewed cargo spacecraft, named after the BelgianastronomerGeorges Lemaître.[3] The spacecraft was launched during the night of 29 July 2014 (23:44 GMT, 20:44 local time, 30 July 01:44 CEST),[4] on a mission to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with propellant, water, air, and dry cargo. It was the fifth and final ATV to be built and launched. Georges Lemaître was constructed in Turin, Italy, and Bremen, Germany. Cargo loading was completed in Guiana Space Center on 23 July 2014.[5]
Georges Lemaître ferried 6.6 tonnes of experiments, spare parts, clothing, food, fuel, air, oxygen and water to the ISS. Included was a Haptics-1joystick which is an advanced force feedback joystick to be used for physiological experiments on tactile feedback.[5][9]
In addition to transporting cargo ATV-5 performed 2 experiments:
LIRIS (Laser InfraRed Imaging Sensors) was a new autonomous rendezvous sensor set that allowed future ships to dock with uncooperative targets, like debris or sample capsules - the ATV used a demonstration version of this advanced sensor system instead of the standard optical sensors bouncing light off the reflectors around ISS docking port.[10]
Break-Up Camera recorded the ATV in infrared as it disintegrated during atmospheric reentry above the Pacific Ocean. After completion of recording, a reinforced SatCom capsule doubling as a prototype "black box" began transmitting the recorded data to one of the Iridium satellites through the gap in plasma behind the vehicle.
One message was received, which included accelerometer, magnetometer and temperature readings. Transmission of the nearly 6000 images, which were apparently successfully recorded, would have involved further messages. It was unclear why but none of these were received.[11]
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
