On-orbit Testing and Docking
Because Jules Verne was the first ATV, several on-orbit demonstration tests were performed in order to confirm that it was able to safely approach and dock with the space station. After launch, the ATV spent three weeks in free flight and successfully underwent Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre (CAM) tests on 13 March and 14 March, ensuring that the CAM could be conducted as a last back-off mechanism should all other systems fail during the docking manoeuvre.
Subsequently, it performed two docking demonstration tests called "demo days". These tests consisted of a series of rendezvous with the ISS, and culminated in its final test: an actual docking with the aft port of the Zvezda service module on 3 April 2008. The rendezvous were performed by a fully automated system using GPS and optical sensors, including a videometer and telegoniometer. When Jules Verne was 249 metres (817 ft) from the space station, the final docking procedure was guided by a videometer, which fired laser pulses at cube-shaped reflectors on the Zvezda module, and a telegoniometer, which functioned like a radar system. The ISS crew could have aborted the docking at any point up until the ATV was one metre from the station (CHOP or Crew Hands-Off Point); this was not required. Jules Verne successfully docked with the ISS on 3 April 2008 at 14:45 UTC.
Read more about this topic: Jules Verne ATV
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