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Automated Transfer Vehicle - ATV-1
Five European unmanned non-reusable pressurized cargo spacecrafts have been designed and
produced by Thales Alenia Space (Turin, Italy), integrated by EADS Astrium (Bremen, Germany) that
added the RDS (Russian Docking System), and finally tested by ESTEC (Noordwijk, Netherlands).
March 9, 2008. Launch of Ariane V from Kourou, carrying in space ATV-1 Jules Verne that delivers
to the ISS 2.2 tons of supplies, water, air, propellants and dry cargo. Commemorative cover cancelled
at Kourou on the date of launch with the special Ariane-5 hand cancel, and non-postal rubber stamp
of the Kourou-based Galliot Tracking Station that supported the launch operation.
April 3, 2008. Automatic docking of ATV-1 with the International Space Station. Because it was the
first ATV to be launched, Jules Verne underwent three weeks of orbital testing before beginning its
final rendezvous with the ISS. Commemorative cover postmarked on the day of docking at Toulouse,
France where is based the Mission Control Center which supported all of the ATV missions. Rubber
stamp of the Toulouse MCC.
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