Johannes Kepler ATV

Johannes Kepler ATV

The Johannes Kepler ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle 002 (ATV-002), was an unmanned cargo spacecraft designed to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). It was launched on 16 February 2011 by the European Space Agency (ESA). Johannes Kepler carried propellant, air and dry cargo weighing over 7,000 kilograms (15,000 lb), and had a total mass of over 20,000 kilograms (44,000 lb), making it, at the time, the heaviest payload launched by the ESA. The spacecraft was named after the 17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler.

Johannes Kepler was the second ATV cargo resupply vehicle to be launched, following the Jules Verne mission of 2008. Johannes Kepler carried around five tonnes more cargo than Russia's Progress-M resupply spacecraft, and about 1.5 tonnes more than the Japanese HTV. 10,000 kg of fuel was used to change ISS's altitude from 350 to 400 km.

Many of the supplies aboard the ATV were used for the Space Shuttle mission STS-133 and the ISS Expedition 26. A Reentry Breakup Recorder was placed aboard the ATV before it undocked from the ISS on 20 June 2011. Johannes Kepler performed a destructive re-entry as intended on 21 June 2011, with its remains impacting the Pacific Ocean.