20-Ton Cargo Freighter Arrives at Space Station

The heaviest cargo ship ever has arrived and docked to the International Space Station, laden with 7 tons of supplies for the 6-member ISS crew. The 20-ton European ATV-3 cargo ship, named “Edoardo Amaldi” after the Italian physicist and spaceflight pioneer, made a “smooth and gentle” docking on March 28, 2012, the European Space Agency said. The supplies delivered included food, drinking water, clothing, oxygen, spare parts and fuel.

The ATV launched from Kourou, French Guiana last Friday. It will use its engines to boost the space station during its 5-month stay on orbit. It is scheduled to undock on August 27 and perform an “orbital cremation” of trash from the space station.

4 Replies to “20-Ton Cargo Freighter Arrives at Space Station”

  1. 20 ton, that’s about 1400 crates of beer, or 33600 bottles of beer
    Cheers up there at space 🙂

    1. Although hard to swallow in zero gravity(?) maybe the ATV HAS some ‘s0da’ on board? WHO will drink the first beer in space? WHO? Then… WHO will brew the first?

  2. Well alrighty Eduardo! Bet this shipment/docking feels really, really good all round! Especially on the ISS! Hello!

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