Mission type | ISS resupply |
---|---|
Operator | JAXA |
COSPAR ID | 2020-030A |
SATCAT no. | 45607 |
Mission duration | 92 days |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Kounotori 9 |
Spacecraft type | H-II Transfer Vehicle |
Manufacturer | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
Launch mass | 16500 kg [1] |
Payload mass | 6200 kg |
Dimensions | 9.8 meters in length, 4.4 metres in diameter |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 20 May 2020, 17:31:00 UTC [2] |
Rocket | H-IIB F9 (last) |
Launch site | Tanegashima, LA-Y2 |
Contractor | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
End of mission | |
Disposal | Deorbited |
Decay date | 20 August 2020, 07:07 UTC |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Inclination | 51.66° |
Epoch | 20 May 2020 |
Berthing at International Space Station | |
Berthing port | Harmony nadir |
RMS capture | 25 May 2020, 12:13 UTC [3] |
Berthing date | 25 May 2020, 14:46 UTC [3] |
Unberthing date | 18 August 2020, 13:51 UTC |
RMS release | 18 August 2020, 17:36 UTC |
Time berthed | 85 days, 2 hours, 50 minutes |
Cargo | |
Mass | 6200 kg |
Pressurised | 4300 kg |
Unpressurised | 1900 kg |
Kounotori 9 (こうのとり9号機), also known as HTV-9 was the 9th flight of the H-II Transfer Vehicle, a robotic cargo spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). [4] [5] It was launched on 20 May 2020, at 17:31:00 UTC. [6]
Kounotori 9 is the last HTV of the original model, with following missions replaced with the HTV-X. [4] [7]
Major difference from the previous Kounotori are: [8]
Wireless LAN Demonstration, or WLD (pronounced wild) [8] is an experiment that will be performed during Kounotori 9's flight. During the test, a video taken by Kounotori 9 will be broadcast in real time on board the space station, via a wireless LAN (WLAN) datalink. [9] The experiment will be conducting during Kounotori 9's approach, departure, and while berthed to the ISS. [10] For WLD, the spacecraft has a camera attached to its propulsion module, while a data processor and WLAN antenna is located at the Unpressurized Logistics Carrier's aperture. [8] The technology to be tested by WLD will enable ISS crews to monitor approaching vehicles during an autonomous docking. [11] According to JAXA, if successful this will be the first time for two spacecraft to communicate using WLAN during a rendezvous. [8]
Kounotori 9 carried about 6200 kg of cargo mass, consisting of 4300 kg in the pressurized compartment and 1900 kg in the unpressurized compartment. [8] In addition to food items and crew commodities, the pressurized compartment (Pressurized Logistics Carrier; PLC)'s cargo consists of: [8]
Cargo in the unpressurized compartment (Unpressurized Logistics Carrier, ULC) was the Exposed Pallet (EP9) which carries the six lithium-ion batteries Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) for replacing the ISS's existing nickel-hydrogen batteries. This was the last of the series of transportation of replacement batteries, following the previous Kounotori 6, Kounotori 7, and Kounotori 8.
On departure from ISS, Kounotori 9 was loaded with the Exposed Pallet of Kounotori 8 (EP8) carrying the replaced nickel-hydrogen batteries. It was left on ISS due to the missed extravehicular activity during the Kounotori 7 mission for the launch failure of Soyuz MS-10 in 2018. The Exposed Pallet of Kounotori 9 (EP9) was left on ISS, and subsequently, it was disposed of by jettisoning into orbit on 11 March 2021 using Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), carrying old nickel-hydrogen batteries. [1] [12]
The Exposed Pallet of Kounotori 9 (EP9) reentered to Earth atmosphere on 8 March 2024. An object from this cargo survived the reentry, damaged a house in Naples, Florida. [13] [14]
Kounotori 9 was launched aboard the ninth and final launch of H-IIB rocket on 20 May 2020, at 17:31:00 UTC. [2] The launch took place amid the COVID-19 pandemic, so that the usual launch viewing places were closed to spectators, and the local town offices requested not to visit for launch observation. [15]
After the successful launch, the Kounotori 9 arrived to the proximity of the International Space Station on 25 May 2020, and it was captured by SSRMS at 12:13 UTC. [16] It was mated to the Harmony's Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM). Berthing operation completed at 18:25 UTC. [17]
ISS crew opened the hatch of the Kounotori's PLC, and entered at 19:24 UTC. [18] Cargo transfer of the pressurized cargo by the crew began on 26 May 2020. [19]
Exposed Pallet (EP9), which carries lithium-ion batteries, was extracted from the ULC by the ground-operated SSRMS on 1 June 2020. [20] Then, Kounotori 8's Exposed Pallet (EP8), carrying old nickel-hydrogen batteries, was stowed into the ULC on 02:48 UTC, 2 June 2020. [21]
On 18 August 2020, Kounotori 9 was detached from Harmony's CBM by the SSRMS, and it was released into orbit at 17:36 UTC. It was disposed by the destructive reentry to the Earth atmosphere at around 07:07 UTC, on 20 August 2020.