Spacecraft engineers at EADS SODERN in Limeil-Brevannes, France, needed image sensors for the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Jules Verne spacecraft automated transfer vehicle (ATV) for the International Space Station (ISS). They found their solution at e2v Technologies plc in Chelmsford, England.
The e2v CCD47-20 sensors were launched to the Space Station. EADS SODERN experts chose the CCD47-20 sensors from e2v as part of the two key systems they delivered for the ATV—an SED16 star tracker for determining the orientation of the spacecraft by measuring its position relative to stars, and a videometer primary rendezvous and docking sensor for the spacecraft.
The Jules Verne ATV, launched into orbit from French Guiana, hauls nearly seven tons of cargo to the Station about 250 miles above the Earth. The unmanned ATV is essential in delivering supplies to the Space Station every 18 months or so and will then stay attached to the station, providing reboost and attitude control for as long as six months. For more information, visit e2v online at www.e2v.com.
