- ARAB NEWS
- 30 Apr 2025
Since 1975
Japan's Kounotori 9 unmanned cargo spacecraft successfully docked to the International Space Station on May 26, marking the last of Japan’s current series of HTV cargo freighters.
A hatch leading to the ISS was opened about an hour later, and ISS astronauts entered the cargo spacecraft.
The Kounotori 9, carrying 6.2 tons of supplies including Japanese lithium-ion batteries, was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Thursday.
https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1264911734910976001?s=20
All nine Kounotori vehicles have successfully delivered supplies to the ISS since the series made its debut in 2009.
The ninth unit is the last Kounotori vehicle. Its successor, HTV-X, will be launched in fiscal 2021.
JIJI Press
