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ISS orders takeout

July 30, 2014

A European cargo vessel has set off for the last such mission carrying supplies to the International Space Station. German astronaut Alexander Gerst can look forward to some home cooking, and some coffee, in the payload.

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Symbolbild - ATV Georges Lemaitre
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Fuel, oxygen, a large supply of coffee, 850 liters of drinking water and around 2.5 tons of food are among the most crucial cargo aboard the unmanned European Space Agency vessel currently bound for the International Space Station and its crew of six.

German astronaut Alexander Gerst shared his excitement at the successful launch of the ATV (automated transfer vehicle) from French Guyana late on Tuesday, local time.

Gerst had extra reason to be excited about the scheduled cargo delivery on August 12. According to Germany's DLR national aeronautics and space research center, the ATV was carrying lentils, semolina pudding, a type of cold cut Vienna sausage and cheese spaetzle - a noodle dish popular in Germany - especially for Gerst.

On departure, the ATV carries waste materials away from the ISS.

Last trip of its kind

The German-built Ariane-5 rocket that blasted off on Tuesday carried into orbit an ATV called "Georges Lemaitre," after the Belgian priest and physicist who proposed what's now known as the Big Bang theory for the origin of the universe.

At a total launch weight of 20.2 tons, the fifth European Space Agency (ESA) ship of its kind carried more materials into orbit than any before it. The five ATV flights were part of Europe's contribution to cover the operational costs for using the Space Station, but future cargo flights will be carried out by US and Russian rockets.

"It is with great pride that we saw the fifth successful launch of this beautiful spacecraft," said Thomas Reiter, the ESA's director of human spaceflight and operations. "But the adventure doesn't end here. ATV knowhow and technology will fly again to space as early as 2017 powering NASA's Orion spacecraft with the European Service module, ushering in the next generation of space exploration."

A major reason for the end of the ESA's flights to the space station is a lack of funds among member countries; a longer-lasting program of cargo flights was initially envisioned.

Gerst arrived on the ISS just over two months ago and has regularly posted updates and photos from his mission, including a recent short blog post about witnessing explosions in the Middle East from orbit.

msh/jm (AFP, dpa)