Ariane 5 Transfer Vehicle (ATV)

摘要

An Ariane Transfer Vehicle (ATV), an unmanned liquid propulsion Ariane 5 upper stage (L5) plus an enhanced Vehicle Equipment Bay (VEB), equipped with all needed subsystems, namely with Rendezvous and Docking (RVD) capability, to perform logistics supply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) is described. The ATV is an L5/VEB derivate and fits into the family of Ariane 5 upper stages. The ATV is a flexible intelligent basis on which to build a logistic vehicle by adaption of payload modules. It is a low-cost vehicle because it reuses to a maximum extent existing hardware and software from other ESA programs like AR5, Hermes and Columbus. Analysis shows the feasibility of the ATV, establishes the requirements, defines the hardware and dynamical configuration and the needed L5/VEB upgrades. A development plan which shows the coherence with the other space programs is given.