The Albert Einstein ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle

Automated Transfer Vehicle

The Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV is an expendable, unmanned resupply spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency . ATVs are designed to supply the International Space Station with propellant, water, air, payload and experiments...

 004 (ATV-004), is a Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft

Unmanned resupply spacecraft

Unmanned resupply spacecraft are a special kind of robotic spacecraft that operate autonomously without a human crew, designed to support space station operation...

 named after German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

-born physicist

Physicist

A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...

 Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...

. The spacecraft is scheduled for launch in 2013, on a mission to supply the International Space Station

International Space Station

The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...

 (ISS) with propellant, water, air, and dry cargo. It is the fourth ATV to be built, following the Eduardo Amaldi

Edoardo Amaldi ATV

The Edoardo Amaldi ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle 003 , is a European unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft named after Italian physicist Edoardo Amaldi. The spacecraft is scheduled for launch in 2012, on a mission to supply the International Space Station with propellant, water, air, and dry cargo...

, which will be launched in 2012. Albert Einstein is currently under construction in Bremen

Bremen

The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

Albert Einstein will be launched on an Ariane 5ES

Ariane 5

Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...

 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou

Kourou

Kourou is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America.Kourou is the location of the Guiana Space Centre, France and ESA's main spaceport.-Geography:...

, French Guiana

French Guiana

French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...

. The launch will be conducted by Arianespace

Arianespace

Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial space transportation company. It undertakes the production, operation, and marketing of the Ariane 5 rocket launcher as part of the Ariane programme....

 on behalf of the European Space Agency

European Space Agency

The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...

.

ATV missions

Designation	Name	Launch date	Docking date	Re-entry
ATV-001	Jules Verne Jules Verne ATV The Jules Verne ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle 001 , was an unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency . The ATV was named after the French science-fiction author Jules Verne...	9 March 2008	Docked 3 April 2008	29 September 2008
ATV-002	Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler ATV The Johannes Kepler ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle 002 , was an unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency . It was named after the German astronomer Johannes Kepler. The spacecraft was launched on 17 February 2011, on a mission to supply the International Space...	16 February 2011	Docked 24 February 2011	21 June 2011
ATV-003	Edoardo Amaldi Edoardo Amaldi ATV The Edoardo Amaldi ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle 003 , is a European unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft named after Italian physicist Edoardo Amaldi. The spacecraft is scheduled for launch in 2012, on a mission to supply the International Space Station with propellant, water, air, and dry cargo...	29 February 2012	Planned	Planned
ATV-004	Albert Einstein	February 2013	Planned	Planned
ATV-005	unnamed	February 2014	Planned	Planned

Sources:

External links

• ESA - ATV