Launch and Early Operations
Jules Verne was launched into low Earth orbit atop the maiden flight of the Ariane 5ES carrier rocket. Lift-off from ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana occurred at 04:03:04 UTC on 9 March 2008. The spacecraft separated from the carrier rocket 1 hour 6 minutes and 41 seconds after lift-off, and navigation systems were subsequently activated. Two days later, on 11 March, the four main engines of the ATV were fired for the first time, marking the beginning of several orbital insertion boosts. The Overberg Test Range played a part in relaying telemetry data from a mobile station deployed in New Zealand during the launch phase.
Read more about this topic: Jules Verne ATV
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