NASA has announced it plans to air the departure of a Japanese cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station beginning on November 1, the company said.
Ground controllers will use the station´s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency´s H-II Transport Vehicle-8 (HTV-8) several hours before its release.
HTV-8 delivered more than four tons of scientific experiments, including an upgrade to the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF-L), a small-sized satellite optical communication system (SOLISS), and a payload for testing the effects of gravity on powder and granular material (Hourglass). The spaceship also delivered supplies and new lithium-ion batteries for an upgrade from the nickel-hydrogen batteries that store power generated by the station´s solar arrays.
The cargo craft spent five weeks attached to the orbiting laboratory following a Sept. 24 launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. It will be loaded with trash and the nickel-hydrogen batteries removed from the station over a series of recent spacewalks.
