Spiegel: Europe Plans Manned Spaceship - by Christoph Sedler
A modified ATV could become Europe's very own manned space craft
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Europe Plans Manned Spaceship- by Christoph Sedler
The news was only announced to a small group of people. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the aerospace group EADS Astrium had invited a mere handful of journalists to Bremen. Hardly any information had been revealed before the meeting, only nebulous hints. Now the reason for the secrecy has become apparent. Astrium is planning to add a new chapter to the history of space exploration. Engineers have quietly been developing a plan that would lead to the entry of Europe into manned space travel — if it gets political backing. Planners say manned European spaceflight could become a reality within nine years. The essence of the plan is to turn Europe's unmanned Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) into a full spacecraft in two stages.
Labels: ATV, ESA, EU, European Space Research
