n MNASSA : Monthly Notes of the Astronomical Society of South Africa - Europe's new space freighter on maiden voyage : news notes

Abstract

In early March, Europe launched their most advanced spaceship to date. The new generation robotic orbital freighter, named Jules Verne, blasted off from the European-controlled spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana en route to the International Space Station (ISS). This inaugural flight was not in any hurry to dock with the ISS, taking three weeks to do so. This allowed ample time to thoroughly test all aspects of the spacecraft to ensure it was ready to approach the Space Station.