PARIS (Reuters) - A European supply vessel carrying over five tonnes of freight docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday in a major advance for Europe's space programme.
European Space Agency (ESA) officials said the docking ofEurope's first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) was flawlesswhen it eased into place without any intervention fromastronauts in the space station.
They put the official docking time with the ISS at 3:52p.m. BST.
"The ATV is so much more than a simple delivery truck, itis an intelligent and versatile spaceship which has justdemonstrated its extraordinary skills," Daniel Sacotte, ESA'sDirector for Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Explorationsaid in a statement issued after the docking.
"It is the largest and most complex spacecraft everdeveloped in Europe and the second in size of all the vehicle'svisiting the station after NASA's space shuttle.
"With Columbus and the ATV, we have entered the majorleague of the ISS," he said.
From a control centre in Toulouse, France, ESA DirectorJean-Jacques Dourdain added: "I'm completely flabbergasted."
"I knew it would be extraordinary, but to succeed like thaton the first try...I think it's an incredible technical feat,"he said.
Dubbed "Jules Verne" in honour of the visionary 19thcentury French science fiction writer, officials are countingon the ATV programme, in which $2 billion (1 billion pounds)has been invested so far, to open the way to further Europeanspace exploration.
"One of the strategic reasons why the ESA was so keen tohave its own ATV was that this technology is exactly the kindyou need to go and rendezvous with Mars," said John Ellwood,ESA's ATV Project Manager in a Webcast.
"ATV shows that the technology works and that we can do itin Europe," Ellwood said.
The ATV, built by a consortium led by the space unit ofaerospace group EADS, carries three times the cargo of Russia'sProgress vehicle and will play a key role supplying the ISSonce the current generation of space shuttles is phased out.
Thursday's docking with the ISS, a $100 billion project by15 nations, was overseen by control stations in France, theUnited States and Russia.
The ATV was launched aboard an Ariane-5 rocket fromEurope's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on the northeastcoast of South America on March 9. It is carrying supplies andfuel as well as two original manuscripts of Jules Verne novels.
"Jules Verne" will remain docked to the space station forsix months as astronauts remove its cargo and fill it withrubbish from the station. It will then be thrust back towardearth, burning up on re-entry.
As well as serving as a space supply truck, the ATV willalso be used as a "space jack". Residual gravity from Earthcauses the space station to fall about 2.5 km a month. JulesVerne will ignite thrusters to lift the station back to ahigher altitude.
(Reporting by Alexander Miles; Editing by Jon Boyle)
