ESA joy as European vessel docks with space station

(Updates with docking time, ESA official's quotes)

PARIS, April 3 (Reuters) - A European supply vessel carrying over five tonnes of freight docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday in a major advance for Europe's space programme.

European Space Agency (ESA) officials said the docking of Europe's first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) was flawless when it eased into place without any intervention from astronauts in the space station.

They put the official docking time with the ISS at 1452 GMT.

"The ATV is so much more than a simple delivery truck, it is an intelligent and versatile spaceship which has just demonstrated its extraordinary skills," Daniel Sacotte, ESA's Director for Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration said in a statement issued after the docking.

"It is the largest and most complex spacecraft ever developed in Europe and the second in size of all the vehicle's visiting the station after NASA's space shuttle.

"With Columbus and the ATV, we have entered the major league of the ISS," he said.

From a control centre in Toulouse, France, ESA Director Jean-Jacques Dourdain added: "I'm completely flabbergasted."

"I knew it would be extraordinary, but to succeed like that on the first try...I think it's an incredible technical feat," he said.