Japan successfully launches a new cargo spacecraft to deliver supplies to the International Space Station
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s space agency on Sunday successfully launched its new flagship H3 rocket carrying an unmanned cargo spacecraft for its first mission to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said the HTV-X1 spacecraft successfully lifted off atop the No. 7 H3 rocket from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.
The spacecraft was separated and placed into a planned orbit, JAXA said. If all goes smoothly, it is expected to arrive at the ISS within a few days to deliver supplies. Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, who is currently on the ISS, will capture the spacecraft with a robotic arm early Thursday morning.
The HTV-X is the successor to JAXA’s unmanned H-II Transfer Vehicle, known as Kounotori, or stork in Japanese, which flew nine missions to the ISS between 2009 and 2020.
The new freighter can carry a greater payload and provide power in flight, enabling the transportation of cells and other laboratory samples that require low-temperature storage.
The HTV-X is designed to be connected to the ISS for up to six months to deliver supplies and pick up waste from the ISS, and then perform engineering missions while making an orbital flight after leaving the station, this time for three months.
The H3 rocket replaces Japan’s long-favored H-2A rocket, which made its final flight in June, as a new flagship model designed to be more cost-competitive in the global space market.
Japan views a stable, commercially competitive space transportation capability as key to its space program and national security.
The H3 has made six consecutive successful flights so far after a failed debut attempt in 2023, when the rocket and its payload had to be destroyed.
