Japanese HTV Cargo Ship Launches to ISS!

Japanese HTV cargo ship, the last of its kind, launches to International Space Station

By Tariq Malik 4 hours ago

It will reach the station Monday, May 25.

An unpiloted Japanese cargo ship, the last of its kind, launched  toward the International Space Station today (May 20), kicking off a  final voyage for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

The supply ship, called HTV-9, lifted off atop a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIB rocket  from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center at 1:31 p.m. EDT (1731 GMT). The  local time at launch was 2:31 a.m. JST at the space center.

The rocket was bathed in a blue light before launch to honor  healthcare workers around the world who are battling the ongoing  coronavirus pandemic.

"A flawless launch and a flawless climb to  orbit for the final HTV vehicle, now well on its way to the  International Space Station," NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said during  live commentary.

The mission marks the final flight of JAXA's HTV spacecraft and its  H-IIB rocket as the country pursues a new booster, the H-III rocket, and  an advanced HTV-X spacecraft for future missions beginning in 2022.

HTV-9  is carrying more than 8,000 lbs. (3,600 kilograms) of supplies for the  three Expedition 63 astronauts currently living on the International Space Station.  That haul includes six new lithium-ion batteries for the station's  solar arrays, which will be installed later this year in a series of  spacewalks.

The spacecraft is also carrying water, food, spare  parts and science gear for the station, including a new Confocal Space  Microscope to study biological samples in space; a Solid Combustion  Experiment Module for fire experiments; and a binocular telescope called  iSIM that will provide ultra-high-resolution views of Earth from the  porch-like External Facility outside Japan's Kibo laboratory on the  station.

JAXA officials said the spacecraft is also carrying the "world's first  space avatar," a robot controlled from the ground that will allow users  to "see, hear, feel and interact freely" with the space station's  environment. The robot is part of a commercial partnership with ANA  Holdings in Japan, JAXA officials said in a project description.

Japan's HTV spacecraft are disposable space freighters designed to  haul up to 6 tons (5.4 metric tons) of supplies to the International  Space Station. The cylindrical craft are 33 feet (10 meters) long and 14  feet (4.4 m) wide, and cannot dock themselves to the station. Instead,  they are captured by the station's robotic arm.

The first HTV spacecraft launched in September 2009. Since then, JAXA has launched eight more missions while continuing to develop new technologies for its successor, the HTV-X.

HTV-9 will test a new wireless communications system on this flight  that the HTV-X will use to dock itself to the station. HTV-X will also  feature a new, reusable pressurized compartment. In 2018, the HTV-7  spacecraft successfully tested a small reentry capsule  that returned experiments to Earth, although JAXA's HTV vehicles  themselves burn up in Earth's atmosphere as they fall back to Earth.

Last  year, JAXA and NASA agreed to work together on future moon missions. As  part of that collaboration, JAXA may use HTV-X to deliver cargo to  NASA's planned Gateway station around the moon.

JAXA's HTV vehicles are part of an international fleet of robotic  spacecraft that have regularly resupplied the space station over the  years. Russia's workhorse Progress cargo ships, the European Space  Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicles and private U.S.-built cargo ships  built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman round out that group.

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Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.