Next step - ATVs that return Cargo
Les Mureaux - March 31 (Reuters) - Astrium, the space unit of aerospace group EADS, says it is seeking support to build two extra resupply vehicles worth 400 million euros for the International Space Station.
The first ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) Jules Verne docked with ISS last year and was a breakthrough for the European Space Agency.
"We have sent ESA an offer to build two extra ATVs," Alain Charmeau, head of Astrium Space Transportation, told reporters, adding he expected to get a response by the end of 2009.
ESA was not immediately available to comment.
Ministers from the 18-nation ESA agreed in November to develop a new version of the ATV that would return cargo from the space station to Earth without burning up in the atmosphere.
The first ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) Jules Verne docked with ISS last year and was a breakthrough for the European Space Agency.
"We have sent ESA an offer to build two extra ATVs," Alain Charmeau, head of Astrium Space Transportation, told reporters, adding he expected to get a response by the end of 2009.
ESA was not immediately available to comment.
Ministers from the 18-nation ESA agreed in November to develop a new version of the ATV that would return cargo from the space station to Earth without burning up in the atmosphere.
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