The Japanese HTV-6 cargo vehicle is seen grappled by the International Space Station's robotic arm.
iss050e015689 (Dec. 13, 2016) — The Japanese HTV-6 cargo vehicle is seen grappled by the International Space Station’s robotic arm after arrival. HTV-6 launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan on Friday, Dec. 9 and arrived at the space station on Tuesday, Dec. 13. The vehicle was loaded with more than 4.5 tons of supplies, water, spare parts and experiment hardware for the six-person station crew, including 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.