Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle introduces a new generation of spacecraft, capable of entirely automatic rendezvous and docking, as opposed to Progress or Soyuz where the vehicle needs cooperation of the Station.

Unmanned - but man-rated – ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) has the unique capability to perform automatic rendezvous in a fully autonomous manner.

The rendezvous of ESA's Jules Verne ATV with the ISS uses GPS navigation, star tracker devices, two critical sensors, a telegoniometer and a videometer. After raising its orbit to some 400 kilometres, the ATV will come in sight of the ISS, and from about 30 kilometres distance behind, and 5 kilometres below, it will close in on its target.

Reproduced from the ESA Website

Jules Verne lettering and ESA emblem depicted on side; AZ Technology.