"Jules Verne has discharged its cargo of 1,150 kg of dry cargo, including food, clothes and equipment as well as two original manuscripts handwritten by Jules Verne and a XIXth century illustrated edition of his novel From the Earth to the Moon"

Original manuscripts? Are they mad? Surely they could have scanned and emailed it to the ISS? Let's hope they never name a spaceship Shakespeare or Dickens.

Yes, they're actual originals. The NASA channel showed them giving them the white glove treatment packing them into vacuum bags. They showed off Mr. Verne's signature just before doing so.

It's just like the original Star Wars light saber movie prop that went up on a shuttle not too long ago. Not only is it now an original Jules Verne, but it's flown in space as well, which really seems to excite a lot of people.

falling in flames on its way to the ocean. I can't believe they're still making throw-away spacecraft. That stupid ISS is going to turn out to be an even bigger money pit than the shuttles.

...or Oppenheimer or Curie

So a 19 ton space craft only carries about 2 tons of equipment ? Seems a bit inefficient. Especially as there is no need for life support or passengers.

Probably yes. While I can understand this as a demonstration of trust in the ATV on behalf of our neigbours across the channel methinks they probably forgot that it is _NOT_ going back on it and will have to hitch a lift on the shuttle.

Ah, that would be some of themanfrommars' misdirected luggage from T5 wouldn't it.

Glad that's sorted.

Title: Jules Verne mates with ISS

Reason for Title: "Jules Verne’s docking probe was captured by the docking cone at the aft end of Russia’s Zvezda module "

tee hee giggle etc.

Long day, was it?

I'm hoping they make a new ATV ^H^H^HWaste Container, named after Ayn Rand....

Mine's the one that is what it is.

"So a 19 ton space craft only carries about 2 tons of equipment?"

That's a fairly good weight ratio, especially comparted to the shuttles. Now, I would really like to see the heat shielded ATVs with passanger seats and some spaceturists hitching a ride in them.

ps: Mine is the funny looking spacesuit with a ticket for a ride on the next progress...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120199/

You must be one of the idiots pulling money from science: reusable launch vehicles sound cost effective in principle but they just haven't proved so in practice Refitting and moving the shuttle piggyback on planes is phenomenally expensive.

Three cheers from me as Europe continues pragmatic and cost-effective space exploration and research without military budgets.

Captain: Ready release of capsule claw

1St Mate: Claw release ready

Captain: Jettison the module

Pshhhhhscht

1st Mate: Module away

Captain: Houston, the Jules Vern Module is released and on its way

Houston: Rodger that ISS

Captain: Its great isn't it number 1, to get rid of that. All that rubbish was getting a little stinky. Just think, in a few hours time it will be pulverized at 10,0000 degrees over the pacific.

1st Mate: Sure it amazing. Say can I have a look at that old book?

Captain: Sure sonny, where did you put it?

1st Mate: I thought you grabbed it...

...<silence>...

Captain: Aww F*$%k It

In theory, the JV can carry men into space, but not return them to Earth. Reentry and soft landing is tricky, but I'm not sure why they didn't do it. With the US space shuttle retiring soon, this leaves the Russian Soyus as the only method of putting men into space. Will the Russians be the first and the last in space?

You have to remember the history of the shuttle. After Apollo, the US government cut budgets and told NASA they could have a cargo lifter or a reusable passenger craft. NASA tried to have their cake and eat it. The unfortunate result being the Space Shuttle, a phenomenally expensive spacecraft that needs to be rebuilt every time it flies. A spacecraft that is a not very good passenger craft and terrible cargo lifter. Just because the Shuttle is a massive waste of money doesn't necessarily mean all reusable spacecraft will be.

"Jules Verne is carrying '1,150 kg of dry cargo, including food, clothes and equipment as well as two original manuscripts handwritten by Jules Verne and a XIXth century illustrated edition of his novel From the Earth to the Moon'..."

"When its visit is completed, the Jules Verne will carry ISS rubbish back into Earth's atmosphere for a controlled burn-up over the Pacific."

And what happens to the *original* manuscripts then?

How dare you publish porn like that on this site !!! And it's not even human porn !!

How many Ariane's blew up on the launch pad before they got it right?

And what is the point? What if some scholar of old Julesy had evidence that Verne was a time-traveller or something, and he needed those manuscripts to (dis)prove his theory, and they had been burned up on the launch pad?

Arianes do *NOT* blow up at the launch pad. They blow up after launch especially when they get the software in the wrong way round.

*Images of a Journey to the Centre of the Earth springs to mind*

The reason it didn't was because it needed extra fuel to carry out the docking tests:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/atv.html

The ATV is more than 32 feet (10 meters) long and almost 15 feet (4,5 meters) in diameter. It has a dry weight of about 23,000 pounds (10,5 ton). It docks automatically with the station, though station crew members can take charge of the process if difficulties arise.

It can carry more than 16,800 pounds (7,7 ton) of cargo. It can take to the station as much as 12,000 pounds (5,5 ton) of dry cargo, almost 1,850 pounds (830 kilo) of water, as much as 220 pounds (100 kilo) of gases, and up to 1,890 pounds (850 kilo) of propellant for the station.

can't they at least put an Apollo style heat shield on it and pick it up after a splashdown somewhere? Controllable parachute technology is good enough to make sure it's even steered to within a few feet of it's desired landing zone.

seems a terrible waste to destroy entire spacecraft after only one use-especially when it's use is orbital instead of the high stress regimes of launch and trans atmospheric flight.

...and not recyclable. The so-far ultimate expression of our consume-everything society-that-calls-itself-a-civilisation.