ISS Fan Club

The Expedition 16 crew members aboard the International Space Station continued their preparations to receive Europe’s new unpiloted resupply ship, the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV).

At 2 a.m. EDT, Thursday, the ATV fired it engines, bringing it out of a parking orbit and putting it into position to make its first demonstration approach to the station. During its first approach, which is scheduled for Saturday, the ATV will fire its engines several times to bring it approximately two miles from the station. Once in position, the ATV will conduct thruster firings and other systems tests before it pulls back into a phasing orbit.

See http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html