ATV takes final plunge In a complex set of maneuvers requiring careful choreography, Europe's fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle adjusted its orbit to pass directly below the International Space Station when it fell back into Earth's atmosphere Saturday.



The robotic logistics spaceship is about the size of a London double-decker bus, and its final job was to dispose of several tons of trash and clear room on the space station for new equipment.



The ATV fell back to Earth over the South Pacific Ocean, a location specifically selected to be away from populated land masses and busy shipping lanes.



Astronauts aboard the space station observed the event to help engineers better understand how spacecraft disintegrate and burn up during re-entry.



These photos show the ATV's departure from the space station Oct. 28 and the re-entry Nov. 3.



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Credit: NASA/ESA