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An H-2B rocket carrying the Kounotori 7 spacecraft takes off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwest Japan, on Sunday, September 23, 2018. The unmanned Japanese space capsule heads for the International Space Station with 5 spacecraft. 500 kilograms (12,000 pounds) of freight, including food, experiments and new batteries. (Kyodo News via AP) (Associated Press)
TOKYO – A unmanned Japanese space capsule is heading for the International Space Station filled with cargo, including food, experiments and new batteries.
The craft was launched Sunday at 2:52 from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. It will take 4 and a half days to reach the space station.
The launch was delayed about two weeks due to bad weather and a mechanical problem.
The delay has led NASA to postpone two space walks to install the six lithium-ion batteries until new crew members arrive next month. They will replace aging nickel-hydrogen batteries with electricity from the station, allowing for expansion of its operations.
The supply ship is a 9-meter (30-foot) long cylinder that will be recovered by the robotic arm of the space station. He is called Kounotori, which means white stork.
The 5,500 kilograms (12,000 pounds) of cargo include racks and equipment for experiments and a re-entry experimental capsule to try to demonstrate new technology for recovering samples from the space station.
Once unloaded, the tanker will be filled with garbage and sent to Earth. It will be destroyed when it returns to the atmosphere.
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