#htv6

In a display of orbital international affairs, Japan’s HTV-6 cargo vehicle arrived at the International Space Station this morning.

NASA Astronaut Shane Kimbrough and ESA Astronaut Thomas Pesquet controlled the Canadian-built Canadarm2 which grappled the craft at 5:37am EDT. Three hours later, at 8:50am, the latches securing the spacecraft to the station’s Harmony module were confirmed as engaged, ending the berthing procedure. HTV-6 brought over six tons of cargo to the ISS, including the first of four planned deliveries of replacement batteries for the complex. Station crewmembers will enter HTV either tonight or Tuesday morning. Removal of the batteries, stowed externally in the spacecraft’s Exposed Pallet, will occur New Years Eve. Two spacewalks in the first weeks of January will see their installation. HTV launched Friday morning from the Tanegashima space center in Japan. Current vehicles at the International Space Station are seen below.

Sixth HTV flight ready for launch to ISS.

Japan is preparing to launch the HTV-6 spacecraft to the International Space Station Friday morning, December 9. Liftoff will occur at 8:26am EDT from the Tanegashima spaceport on an H-IIB rocket. Flights of the HTV vehicle occur roughly once a year.

8,600 pounds of cargo are riding up in the spacecraft’s pressurized cargo interior, while the first six of 48 Lithium-Ion batteries are stored in the unpressurized cargo bay. These batteries will eventually replace the station’s original Nickel-Hydrogen batteries dating from around 2000. Arrival at the space station is expected Tuesday, December 13. Around January 20, the spacecraft will depart the complex for a weeklong solo mission to deploy the HTV-KITE experiment. KITE - for Kounotori Integrated Tether Experiment - will release a 2,300 foot wire which aims to test different technologies for orbital debris removal. Technicians will monitor a 44-pound endmass for movement as the electrified tether attracts electrons.