Home » Japanese Cargo Spacecraft Set to Blast Off from Tanegashima Space Center Bound for ISS

Japanese Cargo Spacecraft Set to Blast Off from Tanegashima Space Center Bound for ISS

By  //  September 22, 2019

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Delicious Digg This Stumble This

LIFT OFF SET FOR 12:05 p.m. EDT on Sept. 24

A Japanese cargo spacecraft loaded with more than four tons of supplies, spare parts and experiment hardware is scheduled to launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan to the International Space Station at 12:05 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 24. NASA image)

(NASA) – A Japanese cargo spacecraft loaded with more than four tons of supplies, spare parts and experiment hardware is scheduled to launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan to the International Space Station at 12:05 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

Live coverage of the launch and capture will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) unpiloted H-II Transport Vehicle-8 (HTV-8) originally was scheduled to launch Sept. 10, but the launch was postponed because of a fire at the mobile launch pad exit hole during the countdown operation.

Launch provider Mitsubishi Heavy Industries identified the root cause for the fire and set the new launch date after corrective measures were put in place.

Expedition 60 Flight Engineer Christina Koch of NASA, backed up by her NASA crewmate Andrew Morgan, will operate the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm from the station’s cupola to capture the 12-ton spacecraft as it approaches from below.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch conducting the Cell Science-02 bone healing and tissue regeneration experiment in the Life Sciences Glovebox. (NASA Image)

Following a successful launch Sept. 24, the spacecraft will arrive at the station Saturday, Sept. 28.

NASA TV coverage of the HTV’s rendezvous and capture will begin at 5:45 a.m. Expedition 60 Flight Engineer Christina Koch of NASA, backed up by her NASA crewmate Andrew Morgan, will operate the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm from the station’s cupola to capture the 12-ton spacecraft as it approaches from below.

Robotics flight controllers will then take over the operation of the arm to install HTV-8 to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module where it will spend a month attached to the orbiting laboratory.

Flight Engineer Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) will monitor HTV-8 systems during its approach to the station.

IMAGE OF THE DAY: NASA Satellite Captures Four Western Hemisphere Tropical Storms From SpaceRelated Story:
IMAGE OF THE DAY: NASA Satellite Captures Four Western Hemisphere Tropical Storms From Space

Capture of the HTV-8 is scheduled around 7:15 a.m. Coverage will resume at 9:30 a.m. for the final installation of the resupply craft to Harmony by robotic ground controllers. If the installation operations are running ahead of schedule, coverage would begin earlier.

Named Kounotori, meaning “white stork” in Japanese, the craft will deliver six new lithium-ion batteries and corresponding adapter plates that will replace aging nickel-hydrogen batteries for two power channels on the station’s far port truss segment.

The batteries will be installed through a series of robotics and spacewalks the station’s crew members will conduct later this year.

Additional experiments on board HTV-8 include an upgrade to the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF-L), a small-sized satellite optical communication system (SOLISS), and a payload for testing the effects of gravity on powder and granular material (Hourglass).

ALL POINTS CEO PHIL MONKRESS: Our Neighbors Ushering in Next Generation of American Space TravelRelated Story:
ALL POINTS CEO PHIL MONKRESS: Our Neighbors Ushering in Next Generation of American Space Travel

CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS