Japan's first unmanned cargo ship is on track to arrive Thursday
at the International Space Station (ISS) to deliver precious supplies and
science experiments.
The H-2
Transfer Vehicle (HTV-1), which launched
Sept. 10, is doing well and has been performing nominally so far, said Matsuo
Naoko, spokesperson for the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
"We conducted demonstration tests on last Saturday, Sept.
12," Matsuo told SPACE.com. "It did very well, so the mission management
team will review the data of demonstration tests and they will decide whether we
will 'go' or 'not go' to the space station."
The official go-ahead is expected in the next couple of days.
Once HTV-1 arrives at the ISS, it must be grabbed by
astronauts controlling the station's robotic arm. The cylindrical freighter is
due to stay at the orbital outpost for about 40 to 45 days, and then be let go
to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere during re-entry.
The new spacecraft is about 33 feet (10 meters) long and 14
feet (4.4 meters) wide. This ship cost about $220 million, though JAXA has spent
a total of about $680 million overall on its development since 1997.
Among the 3.5 tons carried by the cargo ship are science
experiments to go in the station's Japanese Kibo laboratory, which contains an
outdoor exposed facility as well as indoor pressurized compartments. The HTV
craft is
unique in its ability to transport items meant for both inside and outside
environments.
"We have two big exposed facility payloads," Matsuo
said. "One is a NASA payload and one is a JAXA payload. And in the pressurized
section many crew items, food and clothes are packed."
The success
of this ship is especially important given the expected retirement of the
space shuttle fleet in the next year or two. After that, the HTV will join Europe's
Automated Transfer Vehicles and the Russian Progress spacecraft as the main
sources of cargo transport to the ISS.
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