Editing Automated Transfer Vehicle (section)

== History ==
The five ATVs were named after important European figures in science and engineering: ''[[Jules Verne ATV|Jules Verne]]'', ''[[Johannes Kepler ATV|Johannes Kepler]]'', ''[[Edoardo Amaldi ATV|Edoardo Amaldi]]'', ''[[Albert Einstein ATV|Albert Einstein]]'', and ''[[Georges Lemaître ATV|Georges Lemaître]]''. Following several delays to the program, the first of these was launched in March 2008. These ATVs performed supply missions to the ISS, transporting various payloads such as propellant, water, air, food, and scientific research equipment; ATVs also [[reboost]]ed the station into a higher [[orbit]] while docked. The ATV was an uncrewed platform that operated with a high level of automation, such as its docking sequence; at no point was it used for transporting passengers.

Further use of the ATV was proposed in 2008. Various further developments, including crewed versions of the ATV as well as opportunities to reuse sections or elements of its technology, were studied by both the ESA and [[Airbus Defence and Space]], the principal manufacturer of the vehicle.<ref name="atv">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7419793.stm |title=Berlin unveils 'crewed spaceship' |work=[[BBC News]] |date=28 May 2008}}</ref><ref name="atv2">{{cite web | url = http://www.esa.int/esaMI/ATV/SEMNFZOR4CF_0.html | title = ATV evolution: Advanced Reentry Vehicle (ARV) | publisher = ESA | date = 25 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sen.com/news/astrium-awarded-two-atv-evolution-studies-from-esa.html |title=Europe to explore the future of the ATV |publisher=Sen.com |date=23 June 2012 |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref> 
However, on 2 April 2012, the ESA announced that the ATV program would be terminated following the launch of the fifth ATV in 2014.<ref name="spaceflightnow">{{cite web |url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1204/02atvfuture/ |title=Breaking News &#124; ATV production terminated as decision on follow-on nears |publisher=Spaceflight Now |date=2 April 2012 |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref>

In 2012, ESA member [[nation states|states]] decided that the ATV design might be adapted to serve as the service module of the NASA [[Orion (spacecraft)|Orion spacecraft]]. 
In January 2013, ESA and NASA announced that they would proceed with a combined [[Orion Service Module|Orion and ATV derived service module]], later renamed [[European Service Module]] (ESM), which would serve as a major component for the  [[Orion (spacecraft)|Orion crewed spacecraft]].<ref name=osm>[http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/mpcv/orion_feature_011613.html NASA Signs Agreement for a European-Provided Orion Service Module]</ref> NASA’s [[Artemis I]] launched on November 16, 2022, carried the Orion spacecraft with the European Service Module (ESM) manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space for two planned low fly-by orbits to the Moon. ESA will provide the ESMs for the [[Artemis program]] up to Artemis VI with [[Artemis III]] to provide the first humans to set foot on the Moon since 1972.