International Space Station astronauts enter cargo ship - Summary

Fri, 28 Jan 2011

Tokyo - Astronauts started Friday to enter an unpiloted Japanese cargo ship delivering supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) after it docked, a Japanese space agency said.

Also Friday, a Russian cargo spacecraft launched, carrying research equipment and supplies to the ISS crew.

Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) nicknamed Kounotori, or white stork, approached the ISS Thursday and was captured by its robotic arm, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.

Astronauts staying at the ISS checked the air and the cargo's condition and started entering the cargo ship to unload it, the agency said.

The HTV carried nearly six tons of food, clothing and scientific devices, the agency said. The HTV was launched on a rocket Saturday from the space center on the southern island of Tanegashima, Japan.The agency said after the HTV was unloaded, it would take off from the ISS by the end of March and would carry waste from the station, most of which would burn up when the cargo ship reenters the atmosphere.

"After the retirement of (the US) space shuttle, supporting the ISS would be hard without the Kounotori," project manager Yoshihiko Torano was quoted by Kyodo News as saying. "We hope to raise the status of Japan among participating nations by having further success in the future."

Russia's Progress spacecraft blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Friday (0130 GMT), the Russian space agency said.

After a two-day flight it was to arrive with 2.6 tons of cargo at the ISS.

The space station currently houses a crew of six - three Russians, two Americans and an Italian.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/364692,cargo-ship-summary.html.