credit: ESA / caption: the last image of ATV as it departed ISS on 5 September
The European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle named Jules Verne is to re-enter the upper atmosphere at an altitude of 120km (64.8miles) at 1330 GMT today
click through to the extended portion for further details and to see a ATV mission animation The ATV will carry out two de-orbit burns before reentry. The first is from 1000h to 1006h GMT and the second is from 1258h to 1313h
Reentering at 120km at 1330h the solar panels will be lost after 2min 30s at 92km, then the docking adaptor, protective shields and top of the cargo carrier are destroyed at 75km and 4min after atmospheric entry began. By 5min 20s and 52km the thrusters and propellants tanks will fragment followed by the cargo tanks and racks fragmenting 10s later and 3km lower
The final bits of debris will impact the sea’s surface 9min 30s after atmospheric entry after the vehicle’s walls and hinges break apaert at 36km altitude and the cargo tanks separate 9km earlier
The ESA animation below shows the entire ATV mission including its destructive reentry
ESA has been posting information about the Jules Verne’s mission on its ATV blog
