[meteorite-list] Coverage Set for Space Station Departure of European Cargo Ship

[Ron Baalke]

Sept. 18, 2012

Joshua Buck 
Headquarters, Washington           
202-358-1100 
jbuck at nasa.gov 

Kelly Humphries 
Johnson Space Center, Houston 
281-483-5111 
kelly.o.humphries at nasa.gov 

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-181

COVERAGE SET FOR SPACE STATION DEPARTURE OF EUROPEAN CARGO SHIP

WASHINGTON -- The departure of the third European Space Agency 
Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-3) cargo spacecraft from the 
International Space Station will be broadcast live on NASA Television 
beginning at 6:15 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, Sept. 25. 

The 13-ton "Edoardo Amaldi," named for the 20th-century Italian 
physicist regarded as one of the fathers of European spaceflight, 
launched from Kourou, French Guiana, on March 23. It arrived at the 
space station March 28 with several tons of supplies and experiments 
for the station's crew. 

Now loaded with items no longer needed on the station, ATV-3 will 
undock from the aft docking port of the station's Russian Zvezda 
service module at 6:35 p.m., Sept. 25. The craft will back away from 
the orbiting laboratory to a safe distance for an engine firing that 
will enable it to make a planned destructive return through Earth's 
atmosphere. 

ATV-3 will carry the Re-entry Breakup Recorder (REBR) as it descends 
into Earth's atmosphere. REBR is a system that records data during 
the re-entry and breakup of the vehicle and returns the data for 
analysis. Understanding how vehicles behave during re-entry can 
enhance design efficiencies and safety; potentially remove the need 
for deorbit propulsion, which could decrease cost and complexity and 
increase mission life of spacecraft; and could minimize hazards to 
people and property if spacecraft became uncontrollable and 
re-entered randomly. 

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, 
visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv 

For International Space Station information, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/station 

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