Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Jules Verne ATV Docks Autonomously On First Try
The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), the ESA's new resupply ship, successfully docked with the International Space Station at 10:40 EDT today.
The Jules Verne ATV lifted off almost one month ago via Ariane 5ES rocket from the Guiana Space Centre (see the Jules Verne take-off video). Roughly the size of a London double-decker bus, the craft does more than just ferry supplies to the ISS. The Jules Verne also carries extra fuel to push the space station into a higher orbit, a function that is required to maintain the ISS at a proper altitude.
"It was a first for Europe and we achieved it on the first try," said ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain during a post-docking webcast. "I think it's an incredible technical feat."
(Jules Verne ATV docking video)
The secret of the ATV's success?
At a distance of 249 m, the ATV computers use videometer and telegoniometer data for final approach and docking manoeuvres. The approach of the ATV to the ISS slows down to 7cm/s...For the final rendezvous manoeuvres, the ATV uses its eye-like sensors, combined with additional parallel measurement systems, which ensure an automatic docking with an incredible 1.5 cm precision while the spacecraft and the ISS are circling the Earth at 28 000 km/h.
The earliest reference that I can think of to the idea of an "eye-like sensor" for guidance is from the 1931 story Out Around Rigel by Robert J. Wilson:
"Just keep that star on the cross hairs. It's Pi Orionis, a little out of our course, but a good target since it is only twenty-five light-years away. Half the light is deflected on this screen, with a delicate photoelectric cell at its center. The instant the light of the star slips off it, a relay is started which lights a red lamp here, and in a minute sounds a warning bell..."
(Read more about the Photoelectric Course Warning)
Read more about the European Space Freighter Docking Debut; see also the Jules Verne ATV site at ESA.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/3/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Craft ")
Jules Verne ATV Docks Autonomously On First Try
The remarkable autonomous space freighter from the ESA did it right on the first try.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Cognify - A Prison Of The Mind We've Seen Before In SF
'So I serve a hundred years in one day...'
Robot With Human Brain Organoid - 'A Thrilling Story Of Mechanistic Progress'
'A human brain snugly encased in a transparent skull-shaped receptacle.'
Goodness Gracious Me! Google Tries Face Recognition Security
'The actuating mechanism that should have operated by the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell...'
With Mycotecture, We'll Just Grow The Space Habitats We Need
'The only real cost was in the plastic balloon that guided the growth of the coral and enclosed the coral's special air-borne food.'
Can A Swarm Of Deadly Drones Take Out An Aircraft Carrier?
'The border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
WiFi and AI Team Up To See Through Walls
'The pitiless M rays pierced Earth and steel and densest concrete as if they were so much transparent glass...'
Climate Engineering In California Could Make Europe's Heat Waves Worse
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
Optimus Robot Will Be A Good Nanny, Says Musk
'Nanny is different,' Tom Fields murmured... 'she's not like a machine. She's like a person.'
ESA To Build Moon Bases Brick By Printed LEGO Brick
'We made a crude , small cell and were delighted - and, I admit, somewhat surprised - to find it worked.'
Does The Shortage Of Human Inputs Limit AI Development?
'...we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
Textiles That Harvest Energy And Store It
'The clothes and jewelery drew their tiny power requirements from her movements.'
LORIS Passive-Gripper Climbing Robot
'At the end of each appendage's eight fingers there are tinier appendages...'
Neuroplatform Human Brain Organoid Bioprocessor Uses Less Electricity
'Cultured brains on a slab.'
Drug To Regenerate Teeth In Humans
'We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,' said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi.
Coin-Sized Nuclear Battery Good For 100 Years
'...power pack the size of a pea.'
Live Stream With Meta-Ban Multimodal Smart Glasses
'...the bug-eyed, opaque gape of her True-Vu lenses.'
