A little while ago the HTV-9 spacecraft blasted off atop a H-IIB rocket from the Tanegashima space center in Japan for a resupply mission to the International Space Station. About fifteen minutes after the launch, the cargo spacecraft separated regularly from the rocket’s last stage, entered its preliminary orbit and deployed its solar panels and navigation antennas.
The HTV-9 (H-II Transfer Vehicle) spacecraft is also called Kounotori, which means white stork. It carries a total of about 6,200 kg (13,600 lb) of cargo to the International Space Station between the pressurized and non-pressurized section. There are supplies such as water and food for the crew as well as new instruments, scientific experiments, various hardware and some CubeSat-class nanosatellites to be put into orbit from the Station.
Like in last three HTV missions, new lithium-ion batteries and related accessories that will replace old batteries are aboard, this time 6 of them. They’ll be used to accumulate the energy obtained from one of the solar panel blocks of the International Space Station. For this reason, they’re not only a considerable part of the cargo but also a very important part for the Station’s maintenance. This is the last batch of batteries that are transported.
Among the payloads on board the Kounotori cargo shpacecraft there’s ESA’s European Drawer Rack (EDR-2). In very simple words, it is a framework container built according to certain standards for the European Columbus module. It will be installed alongside the EDR that has been used for years and will host scientific equipment and experiments to increase the activity on the International Space Station.
For the Japanese space agency JAXA, this launch is scheduled to be the last with the H-IIB rocket. The first launch of the new H3 rocket is planned by the end of 2020.
The HTV-9 spacecraft went into a route that takes almost four days to reach its destination so it’s scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station next Monday, around 12.15 UTC. It will be captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm, like the American cargo spacecraft Dragon and Cygnus.
