Cargo spacecraft "HTV-2" (Kounotori 2)

Japan

Spacecraft n°:

Japanese spacecraft n°: 169

Launch, orbit & landing data:

Designation	37351 / 11003A
Launch date - time	22 Jan 2011 - 05:37 UT
Launch site	Tanegashima, YLP-2
Launch vehicle	H-2B-304
Total cargo mass (kg)
Earth orbit on Jan 26.32:
- Perigee / Apogee	319 x 333 km
- Eccentricity	0.001
- Inclination	51.64°
- Period	91.05 min

Docking date - time	27 Jan 2011 - 14:51 UT
Target spacecraft/port	ISS/Harmony nadir port
Docking orbit on Jan 27.91:
- Perigee / Apogee	350 x 355 km
- Eccentricity	0.0004
- Inclination	51.64°
- Period	91.58 min
Undocking date - time	unberthed on 28 Mar 2011 at 13:43 UT released at 15:46 UT
Deorbit burn date - time	30 Mar 2011 - 02:44 UT
Destroyed date - time	30 Mar 2011 - 03:09 UT
Flight Duration (dd:hh:min)	66.103 days
Nbr orbits

Description:

Prime manufacturer
Operator
Mass at launch	15876 kg
Dry Mass	12020 kg
Basic shape	Cylinder
Dimension (m)	10.06 long, 4.27 dia
Equipment
Solar array
Stabilization
Propulsion

Mission details:

Cargo to ISS
HTV2 is a 33-foot-long, 13-foot-diameter (10 meter by 4 meter) unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft capable of delivering both internal and external supplies and hardware to the station. The HTV features 57 solar panels arranged on the exterior of the ship for power production. The forward end of the craft is called the pressurized logistics carrier and the mid-section contains unpressurized cargo. The back end of the HTV is the service module housing avionics and propulsion systems.
On Jan 22, 2011 the second H-II Transfer Vehicle, "Kounotori" 2 gouki ("White Stork" Unit 2) was launched from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center on the second H-IIB rocket. The 16000 kg spacecraft will link up with the station and deliver 4.2 tons (3,814 kilograms) of supplies. When HTV2 approaches the station on Jan. 27, Expedition 26 astronauts Cady Coleman, Scott Kelly and Paolo Nespoli will use the station’s robotic arm, known as "Canadarm2", to grapple and berth it to the Earth-facing port on the Harmony.

HTV-2 cargo in space - Credit: Jaxa
Kounotori 2 arrived at the Station on Jan 27, 2011. It was grappled by the SSRMS arm and berthed on the nadir port of the Harmony module at 1451 UTC.
Space shuttle mission STS-133 arrived while Kounotori 2 was berthed to ISS. To avoid interference with the payload bay of the shuttle, Kounotori 2 was relocated from Harmony Nadir port to Zenith port. This was done on 18 February, to make room for the space shuttle Discovery (STS-133).

A close-up view of Kounotori 2 photographed by a STS-133 crew member on the departing space shuttle Discovery
After space shuttle Discovery departed the International Space Station and the STS-133 mission was completed, on 10 March 2011, the ISS crew robotically relocated Kounotori 2 back to the nadir port of Harmony module. The moving operation began at 11:49 UTC. The spacecraft was attached to the Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) at Harmony's Earth facing nadir port at 16:19 UTC. The CBM bolts were fastened at 17:20. The five hour long moving operation was completed when the space station crew completed the connections of the electrical cables/lines between the Kounotori's Pressurized Logistics Module (PLC) and the Harmony module at 18:55 UTC.
During the stay of Kounotori 2 to ISS, on 11 March M-9.0 earthquake occurred. The ground control center in Tsukuba was damaged, and the monitoring operation had to be handed over temporarily to NASA. The mission control room resumed the operation on 22 March.
After an extended two-month stay, on 28 March, Kounotori 2 was detached from the docking port by robot hand at 15:29 UTC and released at 15:46 UTC. It was deorbited at 0244 UTC on Mar 30 and reentered the atmosphere over the South Pacific at 0309 UTC.