A Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) H-IIB rocket is fueled and ready for a launch of the H-II Transfer Vehicle-8 (HTV-8) at 12:05 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Sept. 24 (1:05 a.m. Sept. 25 in Japan) at the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.
Live coverage is underway on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
Named Kounotori, meaning white stork in Japanese, the craft is loaded with more than four tons of supplies, spare parts and experiment hardware. It will deliver 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 by the station’s crew members later this year.
For updates about the crew’s activities on the unique orbiting laboratory, visit: https://blogs-stage-old.nasawestprime.com/spacestation/
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