BUC Infrared Camera and SatCom

The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Break-Up Camera (BUC) incorporating the Infrared Camera instrument and SatCom device to be flown on ESA's final ATV, to record infrared footage from the inside of the spacecraft's break-up as it reenters the atmosphere. The camera is bolted onto an ATV panel; the infrared lens can be seen at the centre of the image. The approximately 10 seconds of footage gathered by the BUC will be transmitted to the spherical SatCom device, right, which is coated in a ceramic heatshield. SatCom will survive the spacecraft’s break-up to transmit the imagery to Iridium telecommunications satellite once it is in free space, falling to Earth.