Unmanned space transport ship "Kotonotori" tomorrow to the final launch May 20 17:52
The Japanese unmanned space carrier Kounotori, which carries goods to the International Space Station, will have its last No. 9 machine launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 2:30 am on the 21st.
"Kotonotori" is a Japanese unmanned space transport ship with a total length of 10 m and a diameter of 4.4 m. JAXA = Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for transporting goods to the International Space Station orbiting the earth at an altitude of 400 km. It will be developed and the operation will be completed with this Unit 9.
At the Tanegashima Space Center, the H2B rocket carrying "Kotonotori" No. 9 was moved to the launch site and fuel injection started at around 5 pm.
Approximately 6.2 tons of supplies such as food items for astronauts and batteries used at the International Space Station are installed in Unit 9 of the Kounotori.
Operation of "Kotonotori" began in 2009, 11 years ago, and until now all eight aircraft have been successfully launched, and if the final launch of Unit 9 is successful, a total of approximately 50 tons of supplies will be provided. It will be delivered to the International Space Station.
JAXA will develop the "HTV-X" as a successor to the "Kotonotori" and carry the supplies to the International Space Station, and will also supply the supplies to the "Gateway", a space station that orbits the moon where construction is planned. It is scheduled to be carried, and we are aiming for a launch within the next fiscal year.
The work for launching the H2B rocket carrying "Kotonotori" No. 9 is underway due to the influence of the new coronavirus as local municipalities close the field and call for refraining from the field. If there is no problem with the weather, it will be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 2:31 am on the 21st.