ISS - Expedition 60 Mission patch.
September 28, 2019
Image above: The Japanese HTV-8 cargo vehicle during installation on Saturday Sept. 28, 2019. Image Credit: NASA TV.
Ground controllers successfully installed the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Kounotori 8 H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-8) to the Earth-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 10:09 a.m. EDT.
Image above: Sept. 28, 2019: International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are attached to the space station including Japan’s HTV-8 cargo craft with Russia’s Progress 73 resupply ship and Soyuz MS-12, MS-13 and MS-15 crew ships. Image Credit: NASA.
Named Kounotori, meaning “white stork” in Japanese, the craft delivered six new lithium-ion batteries and corresponding adapter plates that will replace aging nickel-hydrogen batteries for two power channels on the station’s far port truss segment. The batteries will be installed through a series of robotics and spacewalks the station’s crew members will conduct later this year.
HTV-8 berthing
Additional experiments on board HTV-8 include 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).
Related article:
U.S. Astronauts Captured Japanese Cargo Spacecraft at 7:12 a.m. EDT
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/09/us-astronauts-captured-japanese-cargo.html
Related links:
Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF-L): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=333
SOLISS: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7750
Hourglass: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8007
Expedition 60: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition60/index.html
H-II Transfer Vehicle-8 (HTV-8): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/htv.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Norah Moran/NASA TV/SciNews.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
