Cargo spacecraft "HTV-7" (Kounotori 7)

Description:

• Developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, as a contribution to the space station program, the HTV is 32 feet long and 14.4 feet wide. It is designed to carry both pressurized and unpressurized cargo, including equipment too big to pass through the space station's hatches.

Mission details:

• Japan′s HTV-7 (Kounotori 7) cargo ship was launched on Sep 22, 2018. It arrived at ISS on Sep 27; the Canadarm-2 grappled it at 1134 UTC and berthed it at Harmony nadir at 1409 UTC. On Sep 28 the SSRMS moved the Exposed Pallet (EP) from HTV-7 to the truss MBS POA location. The EP carries a set of replacement batteries for the P4 truss; spacewalkers will install them. Meanwhile, the J-SSOD-10 deployer was transferred from HTV-7 to the Kibo module in preparation for deployment of three cubesats.
  
  

  HTV-7 approch the station

  HTV 7 release

  
  
  
• The Kounotori 7 cargo ship was unberthed from Harmony by the Canadarm-2 at about 1215 UTC Nov 7, 2018 and released into orbit at 1651 UTC.
  For the first time, an HTV departed the station without its EP (Exposed Pallet). The HTV 7 EP remains on the MBS on the ISS truss, waiting for a spacewalk to install the new batteries it is carrying.
  Konoutori-7 made its deorbit burn at 2114 UTC on Nov 10 to an orbit of about -55 x 380 km, reentering over the Pacific at 2141 UTC.
• At 2124 UTC the HSRC reentry capsule was ejected; it also reentered at 2138 UTC and came down on a parachute to a splashdown at 155E 21N at 2206 UTC. This was the first HTV mission to carry an HSRC (HTV Small Return Capsule) to return intact experiment samples to Earth.

Astrophilately covers:

Launch scheduled cancel Houston. Credit: #411c