Japanese Rocket Fueled and Ready for Launch

A Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) H-IIB rocket at the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan is fueled and ready for a launch of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-6) at 8:26 a.m. EST. NASA Television is providing live coverage of the launch, which can be seen at https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv.

Loaded with more than 4.5 tons of supplies, water, spare parts and experiment hardware for the six-person station crew, the unpiloted cargo spacecraft, named “Kounotori” – the Japanese word for white stork – will set sail on a four-day flight to the station. Also aboard the resupply vehicle are six new lithium-ion batteries and adapter plates that will replace the nickel-hydrogen batteries currently used on the station to store electrical energy generated by the station’s solar arrays. These will be installed during a series of robotic operations and spacewalks between late December and mid-January.

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For more information on previous HTV missions from JAXA to the space station visit:

• https://www.nasa.gov/feature/kounotori-htv-launches-arrivals-and-departures
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/albums/72157657507783606

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/