Edoardo Amaldi Flying Into Space

Edoardo Amaldi name may not be as well known as the name of Jules Verne, author of science fiction, or Johannes Kepler, German astronomer and mathematician. But the service is very great Italian physicist for the development of European space research. In fact, she considered the father of European space flight, so the name was chosen as the name of the cargo ship owned by the European Space agency (ESA), which was launched on Friday (March 23, 2012).

Jules Verne and Johannes Kepler was the name of two Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) belongs to ESA which had already flown into space. Eduardo Amaldi launched on Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, just 13 months after the Kepler mission to the international space station (ISS). Cargo ship arrived at the ISS on March 28, 2012. 

The third Automated Transfer Vehicle, Edoardo Amaldi, lifts off from Kourou, French Guiana. (Picture from: http://www.sen.com/)

"This is just the starting point of a long journey that will take Edoardo Amaldi into space for five months," said Director General of ESA, Jean-Jacques Dordain after launch. "That is a good start." 

ATV-3 Edoardo Amaldi
(Pict. from: http://human-spaceflight.blogspot.com/)

European unmanned cargo ship is on a mission to deliver food and other supplies to the station in Earth's orbit. ATV weighs 20 tons of cargo was the heaviest load ever carried by a robotic spacecraft to the ISS. 

Eduardo Amaldi was originally to be launched on March 9, 2012, but the problem is less packaging goes wrong forcing ESA to delay the departure of the ship's cargo.

At the time of inspection before departure ATV-3, officers found two bags of cargo that has not been attached properly in place, so the storage space probe to be reopened in order to secure the bag. 

ESA officials stated this is a vehicle for the European ATV cargo ship carrying supplies to the ISS is the largest and heaviest. The length of the cylinder-shaped spacecraft, and the white measuring 10.7 meters and a width of 4.5 meters. So the ATV is enough to load a double-decker bus.

In its mission, the ATV-3 Edoardo Amaldi carrying more than 6 tons of supplies, of food, water, clothing, experimental devices, until the fuel for the space station. This vehicle also carries items of memorabilia to honor physicists who became one of the founders of the European space agency. Such as a letter written by Edoardo Amaldi to his colleague at the end of 1950. 

ATV-3 mission to ISS. (Picture from: KORAN TEMPO 3834)

Most of the fuel is delivered to the space station will be used to push the ISS into a higher orbit, so that the ISS could continue to fly about 386 miles above the earth. On arrival at the ISS, the cargo ship will dock automatically in the Zvezda module, which is located on the Russian segment of ISS. Disposable cargo ship will remain attached to the ISS for six months. 

After delivering its cargo, the cargo ship will be converted to the trash can. After six months, the ATV-3 will be released from the Zvezda and sent back to be burned up in Earth's atmosphere as it passes through. ATV is part of an international cargo fleet robot used to carry supplies and hardware to the ISS. Progress ship's robotic Russian spacecraft and H-2 Transfer Vehicles (HTV) Japan also travel regularly to the station in orbit. Next year, a similar mission will re-done to fill the stock of food and goods of life support of astronauts who live on the ISS. After Jules Verne, Johannes Kepler, and Edoardo Amaldi, turn ATV-4 Albert Einstein and ATV-5 Georges Lemaitre is scheduled to visit the space post. 

ESA is routinely named the ATV vehicle with the historical figure who has a major role for the science of astronomy or space exploration. The first ATV cargo ship Jules Verne have its maiden flight into space in 2008. The second cargo launch, Johannes Kepler, conducted in 2011. *** [SPACE | MSNBC | ESA | TJANDRA DEWI | KORAN TEMPO 3834]

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