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Japanese cargo ship arrives at space station to make one last delivery - Space.com

Japanese cargo ship arrives at space station to make one last delivery - Space.com

Japanese cargo ship arrives at space station to make one last delivery - Space.com
May 25, 2020 1 min, 31 secs

A Japanese cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station today (May 25) to make one final delivery before its fleet is retired. .

The unpiloted HTV-9 spacecraft pulled up to the space station early this morning to be captured by a robotic arm under the control of NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy.

"It was an honor for Expedition 63 to be part of the final HTV mission, a vehicle that has contributed so greatly to the International Space Station program," Cassidy radioed to NASA's Mission Control in Houston after capturing the spacecraft. .

Built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), HTV-9 — the name is short for H-II Transfer Vehicle 9 — is the latest in a series of disposable cargo ships that have hauled supplies to the station since 2009.

JAXA is retiring its HTV spacecraft to make way for a new cargo ship called the HTV-X, which will launch on a new rocket, the H-III booster, beginning in 2022. .

"Today's arrival of the final in the series of this genre of HTV vehicles marks a transition to a new and even more capable vehicle in the HTV-X which will soon make its debut," spacecraft communicator Leslie Ringo radioed the station crew from Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center.

The HTV-X spacecraft will be able to dock itself at the station, eliminating the need for astronauts to pluck the vehicle from space with a robotic arm.

Related: Japan's robotic space cargo ship fleet in photos.

(3,600 kilograms) of supplies for the station's crew, including vital new batteries for the station's solar arrays that will be installed during a series of spacewalks later this year. HTV-9 is carrying food, water and science equipment for the station's crew. It is also testing a new wireless communication system at the station that will be used by the HTV-X vehicle, NASA officials said

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