After more than a decade of service, Japan’s final first-generation HTV cargo resupply spacecraft has departed the International Space Station, setting the stage for a new HTV-X vehicle capable of service in low Earth orbit and beyond.
Read MoreWith everything reportedly going well for the Demo-2 Crew Dragon mission aboard the International Space Station, NASA has announced dates for a series of upcoming spacewalks to continue replacing batteries aboard the outpost’s exterior truss.
Read MoreIt was a busy start to the month of November for the International Space Station’s Expedition 61 crew and its ground teams. While one cargo ship left the outpost, another made a trek toward it with new science and fresh supplies.
Read MoreFollowing a six-week stay at the International Space Station, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Kounotori 7 cargo ship was unberthed and commanded to depart the vicinity of the orbiting outpost.
European Space Agency astronaut and Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst commanded the 17.6-meter Canadarm2 robotic arm to release the cargo craft at 16:51 UTC Nov. 7. His back-up support was NASA astronaut Serena Aunon-Chancellor.
Read MoreAmong the 6,200 kilograms of cargo that Kounotori 7 brought to the International Space Station is NASA’s new Life Sciences Glovebox to help with biological and physiological studies.
Designed to help with ongoing research relating to the impact of long-duration spaceflight on the human body, the glovebox is a fully-enclosed, acrylic-windowed facility about the six of a large fish tank.
Read MoreJapan’s sixth Kounotori spacecraft, also called the H-II Transfer Vehicle or HTV, re-entered Earth’s atmosphere Feb. 5, 2017, after spending nearly two months in space to resupply the International Space Station and test new technologies.
Re-entry, confirmed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, occurred at 10:06 a.m. EST (15:06 GMT) over the Pacific Ocean. It came just over a week after the spacecraft departed the ISS after spending six weeks attached to the outpost.
Read MoreJapan’s sixth “white stork” arrived at the International Space Station to deliver supplies, experiments, and Christmas gifts for the crew. The Kounotori 6 cargo ship, also called HTV-6, was captured by the outpost’s robotic Canadarm2 at 5:37 a.m. EST (10:37 GMT) Dec. 13, 2016.
Almost three-and-a-half hours later, at 8:57 a.m. EST (13:57 GMT), the cargo ship was berthed to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module at the forward end of the station.
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