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Derek Richardson
September 27, 2018
An archive photo of HTV-5 captured by the ISS crew in 2015. Kounotori 7 was successfully captured by expedition 56 on September 27, 2018. Photo credit: NASA
The Japanese spacecraft Kounotori 7 arrived at the International Space Station to begin a two-month period attached to the outpost while the teams work to unload its 13,700 kilograms of cargo.
The 32-foot (9.8-meter) long spacecraft, also known as the HTV-7, went to the outpost on September 27, 2018. Once at about 33 feet (10 meters) NASA engineer Serena Aunon-Chancellor used the robotic workstation in the dome window to control the 17.6 meter Canadarm2 robotic robot to seize the freighter freighter. The catch occurred about 30 minutes earlier than expected at 7:34 am EDT (11:34 GMT).
Kounotori 7 just before being captured by Expedition 56. Photo credit: NASA TV
"We are excited to see HTV-7 arrive at the ISS thanks to the [Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency] The teams have worked so hard to launch this vehicle successfully despite the recent challenges with equipment and weather, "said Feustel. "Thanks also to [the Canadian Space Agency] and the Canadarm2 to have the ability to seize all our cargo vehicles that carry critical cargoes and supplies for the crew on board and the ISS. It is always amazing to see another space ship orbiting the Space Station and participating in this incredible international space flight. "
Over the next few hours, ground crews remotely controlled Canadarm2 to maneuver the spacecraft to the harbor facing the Harmony module ground where it docked at 11:00 am EDT (15:00 GMT).
Kounotori 7 was launched to the ISS at the top of an H-IIB rocket five days ago at 13:52 EDT (17:52 GMT) September 22 from the Tanegashima Space Center of JAXA, on Tanegashima Island , in southern Japan. The takeoff took place after almost two weeks of delays ranging from weather problems to technical problems.
Inside the logistics module under pressure, Kounotori 7 carries 9,500 pounds (4,300 kilograms). In addition to food and other supplies for the crew, this includes two American experience racks (EXPRESS Racks 9B and 10B), a US Life Sciences Grid Glove box.
In addition, a device called HTV Small Re-entry Capsule, abbreviated HSRC, will also be on board. According to JAXA, it is designed to demonstrate reentry technology and cargo recovery functions since the ISS. Currently, the only vehicles that can return cargoes from the space station are the crewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which offers minimal mass capacity, and SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which offers a large amount of bulk capacity.
The HSRC is inside Kounotori 7 and will be attached to the logistics carrier's hatch pressurized by the space station crew before the spacecraft is untied in November. According to JAXA, it will separate from the vehicle after a deorbit burn and return to the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean near Japan, parachute and recover after splashing.
The exposed pallet with six lithium-ion batteries installed. Image credit: JAXA
Inside the pressure compartment is also the loop heat pipe radiator, which is a technology demonstration system designed to test the high efficiency heat rejection technology. At some point after the arrival of Kounotori 7, the radiator experiment will be moved out of the space station via the experimental Kibo module airlock and the Japanese robotic arm will put it in place.
Finally, Kounotori 7 brought additional CubeSats to the ISS for deployment. According to JAXA, this will involve the 10th deployment of CubeSat using the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Mover since 2012.
According to JAXA, among the delivered CubeSats include: SPATIUM-I, which will demonstrate the measurement of electronic density, 3D mapping of the ionosphere and ultra-small atomic clock technology; RSP-00, which will demonstrate imaging technology with an onboard camera and high-speed data transmission; and STARS-Me, which will demonstrate a small space elevator using two satellites and a climber.
Inside the non-pressurized logistics carrier are six lithium-ion batteries to replace some of the existing nickel-hydrogen batteries outside the outpost. This is the continuation of the multi-mission process that began with the Kounotori 6 flight in early 2017.
At least two spacewalks will be needed to replace the old hardware with the new upgrades. These were initially to be performed by members of the Expedition 56 crew, consisting of six people. However, the various delays in launching Kounotori 7 forced them to come forward for Expedition 57, when one of the first Spacewalkers, Feustel, is expected to return to Earth on October 4th. members – Ricky Arnold of NASA and Oleg Artemyev of Russia.
US astronauts EVA-52 and UVA-53 are scheduled to perform on 19 and 25 October respectively by European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA astronaut Nick Hague. Gerst, along with Aunon-Chancellor and Russian Sergey Prokopyev, will remain aboard the ISS as members of Expedition 57 after the departure of Soyuz MS-08. The Hague, with Aleksey Ovchinin of Russia, is expected to visit the outpost of the Baikonur Cosmodrome at Soyuz MS-10 on 11 October.
Tagged: Expedition 56 International Space Station HTV-7 JAXA Kounotori 7 Leading Stories Urgent NASA
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Derek Richardson
Derek Richardson has a degree in media, including contemporary journalism, from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. While he was in Washburn, he was editor of the student newspaper, the Washburn Review. He also has a blog on the International Space Station called Orbital Velocity. He met with members of the SpaceFlight Insider team during the flight of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket with the MUOS-4 satellite. Richardson joined our team soon after.
His passion for space ignited when he saw Space Shuttle Discovery launch into space on October 29, 1998. Today, this fervor has accelerated to the orbit and shows no signs slowdown. After studying mathematics and engineering at the university, he quickly realized that his true calling was to communicate with others about the space. Since joining SpaceFlight Insider in 2015, Richardson has worked to improve the quality of our content, eventually becoming our editor. @TheSpaceWriter
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