JAXA - H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 6 & (HTV-6) KOUNOTORI-6 Mission patch.
December 13, 2016
Image above: Japan’s HTV-6 cargo craft is pictured in the grip of the Canadarm2 shortly after it was captured Tuesday morning. Image Credit: NASA TV.
Using the International Space Station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2, Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) successfully captured the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kounotori H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-6). At the time of capture, the space station and cargo spacecraft were flying 250 miles over southern Chile. Robotic ground controllers now will install it on the Earth-facing side of the Harmony module.
NASA TV coverage of the berthing currently is scheduled to begin about 7:45 a.m. at http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv.
The Japanese cargo ship, whose name means “white stork,” is delivering more than 4.5 tons of supplies, water, spare parts and experiment hardware for the six-person station crew.
Japanese Cargo Ship Arrives at the International Space Station
The re-supply vehicle is delivering six new lithium-ion batteries and adapter plates that will replace the nickel-hydrogen batteries currently used on the station to store electrical energy generated by the station’s solar arrays. These will be installed during a series of robotic operations and spacewalks between late December and mid-January.
The spacecraft also is bringing the Technology Education (TechEdSat-5) nanosatellite, which includes the Exo-Brake technology demonstration mission. The Exo-Brake technology is a tension-based, flexible braking device that could help bring small payloads back through Earth’s atmosphere unharmed, accurately de-orbiting through a series of adjustments to modulate drag. Exo-Brake deployment is targeted for early 2017.
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For more information on previous HTV missions from JAXA to the space station visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/kounotori-htv-launches-arrivals-and-departures
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/albums/72157657507783606
Related article:
Launch success of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 6 (H-IIB F6) HTV-6
http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.ch/2016/12/launch-success-of-h-iib-launch-vehicle.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html
Image (mentioned), Video (NASA TV), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
