MOSCOW, June 6 (RIA Novosti) - ATV-4, Europe's unmanned cargo carrier, blasted off from the Kourou space center in French Guiana on Thursday to deliver cargo to the International Space Station (ISS).
The fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), named after 20th century theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, is scheduled to dock with the aft port of the Russian Zvezda module on June 15.
The European cargo carrier that services the ISS is bringing to the station over 6.5 metric tons of cargo, including fuel, water, food and other necessities. It is scheduled to remain docked with the station until October 28.
The first ATV, Jules Verne, was launched in 2008, delivering about 4.5 metric tons of food, fuel and equipment to the ISS. ATV-2, named after Johannes Kepler, was launched in February 2011. ATV-3, Edoardo Amaldi, undocked from the ISS in September of 2012 after spending almost half a year at the station.
