The cargo ship HTV-1 will carry food and scientific equipment to the International Space Station (ISS).
His role is very important for the ISS project, which next year could no longer count on the services of the shuttle fleet in the United States.
Japan's space agency (JAXA) launched the module this Thursday at 17.03 GMT in the H-IIB rocket.
The mission of HTV-1 is run by engineers from Tsukuba, Japan, and from the control center of the American Space Agency (NASA, for its acronym in English) in Houston.
A few minutes after liftoff, the rocket separated from the module, which now heads for orbital complex, which will arrive as scheduled in a week.
The HTV-1 is a cylinder ten feet long by four wide capable of carrying up to six tons of material.
In the coming years the HTV and other robotic vehicles of the same type will play an important role for supplying the ISS when it is fully operational.
"This flight of HTV-1 is proof to verify their functionality and performance," said Masazumi Miyake, one of the officials of the U.S. JAXA
"After the end of this mission we plan to launch on HTV average a year."
Unlike other cargo spacecraft, the HTV-1 Japan's dock on the ISS helped by the station's robotic arm, which is the first time that captures something so great in flight path. The HTV-1 remains anchored to the ISS for about six weeks, while the supplies are unloaded and the material it carries.
The re-entry spacecraft loaded with waste from the ISS at the end of the mission and burn somewhere in the South Pacific.
The HTV will be vital to fill the gap that current U.S. shuttles will be used when no more after 2010.
Then the ISS depends five trucks for its logistics operations.
The Russian Progress spacecraft and the European ATV have already demonstrated their ability to fly. Four flights are planned over the ATV to the ISS, each year, beginning in 2010.
After this first mission of HTV, Japan plans to launch six more missions until 2015.
Two private U.S. companies, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences, are developing the Dragon spacecraft and Cygnus. The first is expected to transport cargo to the ISS by the end of 2010.
HTV and Dragon are particularly important for its ability to carry their heavy loads depressurized compartments that normally would not withstand the load points of a pressurized compartment.
Showing posts with label sapce station. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sapce station. Show all posts
Shuttle approaches for docking space station
Astronauts aboard space shuttle Discovery approached the international space base which they hope to mate on Sunday.
Meanwhile, in a comprehensive review that was done to the shuttle were not detected signs of damage during liftoff.
Routine screening began on Saturday afternoon and lasted into the early hours of Sunday.
NASA officials said they were not detected objects emerging from the fuel tank and would have beaten the shuttle during launch of the spacecraft on Friday night.
However, the most vulnerable areas of the ship's wings and nose still must be inspected with lasers and cameras mounted on a rod attached to the robotic arm. The images were obtained were sent for analysis to the Control Center.
Some of the images were retained due to a problem in the feeding of digital television images, but early indications showed that the results of the first images appeared to be positive.
"Nothing stood out from what I saw," said flight director Tony Ceccacci.
In addition, the bottom of the shuttle will be photographed in detail by the inhabitants of the international space base on Sunday night, just before the two ships were assemble.
A hole in a wing caused the destruction of Columbia six years ago. Since then, NASA has maintained surveillance and revised their ships for damage suffered serious at takeoff.
The shuttle mission in two astronauts traveling Hispanic. carrying several tons of equipment and supplies to the international base, which now houses six astronauts and with the arrival of the seven who ride the shuttle, added 13, a record.
Meanwhile, in a comprehensive review that was done to the shuttle were not detected signs of damage during liftoff.
Routine screening began on Saturday afternoon and lasted into the early hours of Sunday.
NASA officials said they were not detected objects emerging from the fuel tank and would have beaten the shuttle during launch of the spacecraft on Friday night.
However, the most vulnerable areas of the ship's wings and nose still must be inspected with lasers and cameras mounted on a rod attached to the robotic arm. The images were obtained were sent for analysis to the Control Center.
Some of the images were retained due to a problem in the feeding of digital television images, but early indications showed that the results of the first images appeared to be positive.
"Nothing stood out from what I saw," said flight director Tony Ceccacci.
In addition, the bottom of the shuttle will be photographed in detail by the inhabitants of the international space base on Sunday night, just before the two ships were assemble.
A hole in a wing caused the destruction of Columbia six years ago. Since then, NASA has maintained surveillance and revised their ships for damage suffered serious at takeoff.
The shuttle mission in two astronauts traveling Hispanic. carrying several tons of equipment and supplies to the international base, which now houses six astronauts and with the arrival of the seven who ride the shuttle, added 13, a record.
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