The H-II Transfer Vehicle launches atop an H-IIB
launch vehicle from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan at 3:48 p.m.
EDT Saturday (4:48 a.m. Sunday, Japan time).
Image Token:
The H-II Transfer Vehicle-4 separates from the
H-IIB launch vehicle second stage.
Image Credit: NASA TV
The fourth
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) H-II Transfer Vehicle, or HTV-4,
launched aboard an H-IIB launch vehicle from the Tanegashima Space Center in
southern Japan at 3:48 p.m. EDT Saturday (4:48 a.m. Sunday, Japan time) to
begin a weeklong journey to the International Space Station. Also known as
Kounotori, or “white stork,” because it is emblematic of an important delivery,
HTV-4 is carrying more than 3.5 tons of supplies, food and experiment hardware
for the station’s Expedition 36 crew. At the time of launch, the station was
flying 260 statute miles over southwest Russia near the border of Kazakhstan.
On Friday, Aug. 9, the HTV-4 will approach the station from below and inch
its way slowly toward a holding position about 40 feet from the complex. While
Flight Engineer Luca Parmitano monitors the systems of the Japanese space
freighter, Flight Engineers Karen Nyberg and Chris Cassidy of NASA will use
Canadarm2, the station's Canadian Space Agency-provided robotic arm, to reach
out and capture the vehicle at 7:29 a.m. With HTV-4 securely grappled, the
robotics team at Houston’s Mission Control Center will command the arm to
install the vehicle to its docking port on the Earth-facing side of the Harmony
node beginning around 9:30 a.m.
HTV-4 is a 33-foot-long, 13-foot-diameter (10 meter by 4 meter) unmanned
cargo transfer spacecraft with both pressurized and unpressurized sections to
deliver supplies destined for inside and outside the station.
Among the items within Kounotori’s pressurized logistics carrier are test
samples for research experiments inside the Kibo laboratory, a new freezer
capable of preserving materials at temperatures below -90 F, four small CubeSat
satellites to be deployed from Kibo’s airlock as well as food, water and other
supplies for the station’s crew. The pressurized section also is delivering new
hardware for the Robotic Refueling Mission to demonstrate robotic
satellite-servicing tools, technologies and techniques.
The HTV-4’s unpressurized section is delivering two orbital replacement units
(ORUs) – a spare Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) and a spare Utility Transfer
Assembly (UTA) – to keep the space station’s electrical system operating
smoothly. The UTA maintains electrical continuity through the Solar Alpha
Rotary Joint, passing electrical power generated by the complex’s huge solar
arrays to station elements and payloads, while the MBSU provides switching
capabilities for the various power channels and sources. ORUs are modular
station components designed to be replaced periodically.
Also inside HTV’s unpressurized cargo hold is the Space Test Program –
Houston 4 (STP-H4) payload, which is a suite of seven experiments for
investigating space communications, Earth monitoring and materials science. Its
predecessor, STP-H3, which was delivered to the station during the final flight
of space shuttle Endeavour in May 2011, will be placed inside Kounotori’s
unpressurized section for disposal when the cargo craft departs in September and
descends to a destructive re-entry over the Pacific
Ocean.
NASA TV Coverage Set for Japanese Cargo Ship Destined
for Space Station
The launch of a Japanese cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station
and its arrival at the orbiting laboratory will be broadcast on NASA Television
Aug. 3 and Aug. 9.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is scheduled to launch its H-II Transport Vehicle (HTV)-4 at 3:48 p.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 3 (4:48 a.m. Japanese time Sunday, Aug. 4), from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. NASA TV coverage will begin at 3 p.m.
Loaded with more than 3.5 tons of supplies, water, spare parts and experiment hardware for the six-person station crew, the unpiloted cargo craft, named Kounotori, the Japanese word for white stork, will embark on a six-day flight to the station.
On Friday, Aug. 9, the HTV-4 will approach the station from below and inch its way slowly toward the complex. Expedition 36 Flight Engineers Karen Nyberg and Chris Cassidy of NASA will operate the station's robot arm to reach out and capture the 12-ton spacecraft and install it on the Earth-facing side of the Harmony module, where it will spend a month. Flight engineer Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency will monitor HTV-4 systems during the rendezvous.
NASA TV coverage of the rendezvous and capture of the HTV-4 on Aug. 9 will begin at 6 a.m. Capture is scheduled about 7:29 a.m. Coverage of the final installation of the resupply craft to Harmony will resume at 9 a.m.
For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:
For more information about the International Space Station and its crew, visit:
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is scheduled to launch its H-II Transport Vehicle (HTV)-4 at 3:48 p.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 3 (4:48 a.m. Japanese time Sunday, Aug. 4), from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. NASA TV coverage will begin at 3 p.m.
Loaded with more than 3.5 tons of supplies, water, spare parts and experiment hardware for the six-person station crew, the unpiloted cargo craft, named Kounotori, the Japanese word for white stork, will embark on a six-day flight to the station.
On Friday, Aug. 9, the HTV-4 will approach the station from below and inch its way slowly toward the complex. Expedition 36 Flight Engineers Karen Nyberg and Chris Cassidy of NASA will operate the station's robot arm to reach out and capture the 12-ton spacecraft and install it on the Earth-facing side of the Harmony module, where it will spend a month. Flight engineer Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency will monitor HTV-4 systems during the rendezvous.
NASA TV coverage of the rendezvous and capture of the HTV-4 on Aug. 9 will begin at 6 a.m. Capture is scheduled about 7:29 a.m. Coverage of the final installation of the resupply craft to Harmony will resume at 9 a.m.
For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:
For more information about the International Space Station and its crew, visit:
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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