ATV Johannes Kepler gears up for space journey

ATV-2 is almost ready for launch on 15 February from Europe?s Spaceport. It will be the heaviest load ever lofted into space by the Ariane 5 rocket, making the 200th flight of the European launcher even more spectacular.

ESA's latest Automated Transfer Vehicle space ferry, named after the German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler, is now fully fuelled, its oxygen tanks are filled and most of the cargo from ESA and NASA is placed inside.


The planned journey includes some extr [...]

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