page_title: European contribution to the International Space Station
section_title: Automated Transfer Vehicle
hierarchical_section_title: European contribution to the International Space Station / Automated Transfer Vehicle
caption_attribution_description: English: ISS036-E-007747 (15 June 2013) --- The European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle-4 (ATV-4) "Albert Einstein" is about to dock to the orbital outpost at 2:07 GMT, June 15, 2013, following a ten-day period of free-flight.
context_page_description: The European contribution to the International Space Station comes from 10 members of the European Space Agency and amounts to an 8% share in the programme. It consists of a number of modules in the US Orbital Segment, ATV supply ships, launchers, software and €8 billion.
context_section_description: ESA developed the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) as an expendable, uncrewed resupply spacecraft to resupply the ISS. It's capable of bringing 6.6 tonnes of supplies to the ISS and docking automatically. As a pressurised component it stays docked as part of the station for several months and boosts it orbit. It is then filled with waste and burnt up in the atmosphere. Five ATVs, Jules Verne, Johannes Kepler, Edoardo Amaldi, Albert Einstein, and Georges Lemaître have visited the International Space Station. No additional ATVs will be funded.
  ATV missions were monitored and controlled from the ATV Control Centre (ATV-CC) located at the Toulouse Space Centre (CST) in Toulouse, France. The centre was responsible for all planning and executing of every orbital manoeuvre and mission task of the ATV, from the moment of separation from its launch vehicle, until it would burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.
  The prime contractor for the ATV was EADS Astrium Space Transportation, leading a consortium of many sub-contractors. Development was started in Les Mureaux, France and moved to Bremen, Germany, as the project moved from its development to production stage of the four initial units starts. In order to facilitate the relationship between the contractor and ESA, an integrated ESA team at the Les Mureaux site had been established for the duration of the development. The development cost of the ATV was approximately €1.35 billion, and each ATV spacecraft costs about US$300 million, not including launch costs.
  The ATV also participated in an early round of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services; Boeing submitted a proposal in conjunction with Arianespace to launch the ESA ATV module on a Delta IV rocket. Whereas the ESA launched the ATV on an Ariane 5, the two companies worked together to make this proposal. The ATV could carry up to 7.6 metric tons with a suitable launcher.
caption: Albert Einstein ATV approaches to the ISS, 2013
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