H-2B F6 – Spaceflight Now

Japan’s HTV supply ship blasts off for space station

December 9, 2016 Stephen Clark

A Japanese H-2B rocket launched toward the International Space Station on Friday with a fresh set of high-power batteries, critical parts for the research lab’s carbon dioxide scrubber, and several tons of food, water and provisions.

Timeline of the H-2B rocket’s launch of the Kounotori 6 supply ship

December 9, 2016 Stephen Clark

Japan’s Kounotori 6 cargo carrier will get a 15-minute boost from a powerful H-2B rocket to send the supply ship and its 4.5 tons of provisions and experiments on a four-day pursuit of the International Space Station.

Live coverage: Japanese HTV resupply freighter captured by station robotic arm

December 9, 2016 Stephen Clark

Japan’s sixth automated logistics vehicle packed with 4.5 tons of supplies approached the International Space Station for a laser-guided rendezvous, culminating with grapple of the HTV cargo craft by the station’s robotic arm at 1037 GMT (5:37 a.m. EST) Tuesday.

Photos: H-2B rocket emerges for rollout to launch pad at daybreak

December 8, 2016 Stephen Clark

A Japanese resupply freighter and its H-2B rocket booster rolled out of the vehicle assembly building at the Tanegashima Space Center just before sunrise Friday for the half-hour trip to the launch pad.

Japanese cargo carrier set for launch Friday

December 8, 2016 Stephen Clark

Japan’s sixth HTV supply ship is slated to depart a picturesque spaceport on Tanegashima Island on Friday to start a four-day pursuit of the International Space Station with a cache of experiments, supplies and six lithium-ion batteries to begin overhauling the orbiting lab’s vast electrical system.