A little while ago the HTV-9 “Kounotori” spacecraft was captured by the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm, operated by Chris Cassidy with the assistance of Ivan Vagner. The Japanese space cargo ship, which blasted off last Wednesday, carries a huge amount of supplies and experiments. After its capture, they started the slow moving of HTV-9 to its berthing location on the Harmony module, where it will be safely installed.

Tomorrow the crew of the International Space Station will open the hatch of the HTV-9 spacecraft and start unloading its cargo. Like other cargo spacecraft that can’t land, after its departure it will be used to eliminate hardware that failed or however old and various wastes, which will disintegrate with the spacecraft reentering the Earth’s atmosphere.

The Kounotori will remain docked with the International Space Station until mid-July, but the date is approximate and can be changed if other activities will take priority. Some spacewalks are needed for the installation of the new lithium ion batteries on board, and the operations to unload them from the HTV-9 might influence the schedule for its departure.

The mission of the HTV-9 spacecraft ends the era of this version of the Japanese space cargo ship, which began in 2009. A new, more advanced version, called the HTV-X, is under development with the aim of creating a more advanced version that’s at the same time much less expensive. Among the new characteristics there are the simplification of parts of its project that will make its construction easier, the possibility of transporting more payloads, and the introduction of the system for its direct docking with the International Space Station.

The first mission of the HTV-X space cargo ship could take place in February 2022, but a lot depends on any problems that might emerge during its development. The HTV-X cargo spacecraft will be launched on an H3 rocket, also in development, although in a more advanced stage.