Alenia Spazio has completed a mechanical model of the cargo carrier for the Automatic Transfer Vehicle (ATV) to be launched by the European Space Agency's Ariane 5 and destined for the International Space Station (ISS).
The module, similar to the Leonardo, Raffaello and Donatello Space Shuttle-launched logistics modules for the ISS, has been delivered to ESTEC, in the Netherlands, to be integrated with the ATV and prepared for structural and thermal tests.
Alenia Spazio is building other ISS units, including the ESA Columbus laboratory, Nodes 2 and 3 - similar to the Boeing-built Unity node already attached to ISS, and a planned pressurised cupola. The company is also in a definition phase for a new habitation module, based on the same design, which may replace the cancelled US habitation module.
Source: Flight International
