Europe space truck undocks from ISS

It is the last of 5 so-called Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV) that ESA has contracted to provide for the US-led ISS project

SPACE STATION. This August 12, 2014 NASA image from video shows the International Space Station (R) above the eastern coast of South America as it orbits the Earth. Photo by AFP

PARIS, France Europe's last supply vessel to the International Space Station undocked on Saturday, February 14, at the end of a 6-month mission, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

The automated spaceship, the Georges Lemaitre, separated from the ISS ahead of an operation on Sunday, February 15, to burn it up in Earth's atmosphere, ESA said.

It is the last of 5 so-called Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV) that ESA has contracted to provide for the US-led ISS project.

Each the size of a double-decker bus, the ships are designed to haul fuel, water, experiments and other essentials to the ISS crew.

After launch, they navigate their way by starlight and dock automatically technologies that are to be used in future US space missions.

During their mission, the pressurized units are used for storage and for living space, and are filled with human waste and rubbish before they are destroyed by re-entry.

Sunday's suicide plunge is scheduled for 1812 GMT.

See more here:
Europe space truck undocks from ISS