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ESA - EADS SPACE Transportation contract signature for: Production of Automated Transfer Vehicles and Initial Exploitation of ISS

Bremen, 13 July 2004

Jörg Feustel-Büechl, Director Manned Spaceflight, of ESA, and Josef Kind and Hervé Guillou, respectively President and CEO of EADS SPACE Transportation, signed the “Initial Exploitation Contract” for the European contribution to the International Space Station (ISS) including the production of six Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV). This contract will allow Europe to contribute to utilisation and operation of the ISS.

The ATV is the most challenging and complex space vehicle ever developed and built in Europe. The logistics services of ATV flights represent Europe's “in kind” contribution to the operating costs of the ISS and allow ESA to act as a key partner for construction, utilisation and logistics of the ISS. The ATV prototype, called Jules Verne, procured under an earlier development contract, will be launched in 2005.

"EADS SPACE Transportation is delighted to receive the green light to begin production of the ATV, a resounding vindication of the company’s work in the vehicle’s design and test phases. This is a major contract for EADS SPACE Transportation and underscores our capabilities in integrating, testing and mission preparation of space transportation systems," said Josef Kind and Hervé Guillou.

The overall value of this contract is about EUR 1.05 billion, of which EUR 835 million is earmarked for ATV production. The contract sets out a flexible production schedule for the ATV, running until 2013, thus allowing optimum response to any programmatic or political decisions which may be taken in relation to the ISS.

EADS SPACE Transportation, prime contractor for development and production of the ATV space segment, is capitalising on the various specialist capabilities over several EADS SPACE sites. For EADS SPACE Transportation in Les Mureaux, near Paris, has prime responsibility for the development phase of the Jules Verne prototype flight model, the company’s Bremen site is in charge of integration and test of the vehicle, and EADS Astrium SAS is providing the avionics subsystems and integration of the avionics bay.

For the production phase – now initiated – EADS SPACE Transportation in Bremen is prime contractor and will integrate and test the complete vehicle and produce the avionics bay and avionics subsystems. Another German EADS SPACE Transportation site, Lampoldshausen, is much involved in the procurement of the propulsion subsystems for all ATV vehicles.

The complete industrial team for the production phase of the six ATVs comprises 30 companies from across 10 European countries, together with another eight companies from Russia and the United States. For the execution of the contract, EADS Space Transportation and Alenia Spazio intend to set up a joint venture company in the next month

The ATVs be launched by Ariane 5 will perform a rendezvous and docking manoeuvre in space for the first time in European history. In addition to the freight of propellants, water, everyday supplies and experiment materials, the unmanned space vehicle, once docked onto the ISS (where it will remain for up to six months), will be used to perform re-boost manoeuvres to raise the altitude of the space station. At the end of its mission, the ATV, which has a launch weight of about 20 tonnes, a diameter of about 4.5 metres and a length of about 10 metres, will be loaded with waste from the space station. It will burn up during controlled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

These ATV capacities demonstrate the importance of the vehicle for ISS logistics, and allow further developments with potential for several unmanned and even manned applications in the future to be envisaged.

With this contract, EADS SPACE Transportation’s position as the European Space Access Provider is reinforced –both the Ariane 5 launch systems and the ATV supply craft are provided under the prime contractorship of the same company.

EADS SPACE Transportation has also developed and produced the European space research laboratory Columbus for the ISS.

EADS SPACE Transportation is the European specialist for civil and military space transportation and manned spaceflight. EADS SPACE Transportation is a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS SPACE. In 2003, EADS SPACE achieved a turnover of EUR 2.4 billion with a workforce of 12,000 people in Germany, France, Spain and the UK.

Contacts
Dr. Mathias Spude
EADS SPACE (GER)
Tel.: +49-421-539-5710

Rémi Roland
EADS SPACE (FR)
Tel.: +33 (0)42 24 27 34

Dr. Christian Erles
EADS SPACE (FR)
Tel.: +33 (0) 1 39 06 32 53