* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: H-II Transfer Vehicle

Blobrana · L

UPDATE: NASA has no plans to buy JAXA transfer vehicles

Read more

Blobrana · L

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration has begun unofficial negotiations with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on purchasing units of the H-2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV), an unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft developed in Japan, as the successor to its space shuttles, which are to retire in 2010, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Saturday.
The H-2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV), which costs about 14 billion yen ($131 million) each, is being developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and domestic companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Mitsubishi Electric Corp.

Read more

Blobrana · L

On June 23, JAXA unveiled to the press a prototype of the "H-II Transfer Vehicle" (HTV), at the Tsukuba Space Centre (TKSC.)
The HTV is an unmanned orbital carrier which is designed to transport goods to the International Space Station (ISS). The HTV is a cylindrical-shaped inter-orbital carrier whose length is 10 meters and diameter is 4.4 meters at the largest section.
It is equipped with both the function of a "manned cargo carrier" for ISS crews to actually embark and carry out supportive work on it and the function of an "inter-orbital carrier" to perform "inter-orbit transportation to a selected attitude," "rendezvous flights to the ISS," and "re-entry" to aim to acquire the necessary technology for autonomous activities in space.

Outline of the HTV project
* Length: about 10 m (including thruster)
* Diameter: about 4.4 m
* Mass: about 10.5 ton (excluding cargo)
* Loading capacity (for supply): about 6 tons
* Loading capacity (for waste): about 6 tons
* Target orbit: ISS orbit
Altitude: 350 to 460 km
Inclination: about 51.6 degrees
* Mission hours:
Solo flight: about 100 hours
Stand-by: more than a week
Docked with the ISS: about 30 days

It will be able to transport six tons of goods to the ISS. The prototype is manufactured for various environmental tests on the ground to check if it can bear with the temperature changes in space and acoustic and vibration environment at the time of the launch.
The HTV is scheduled to be launched by an augmented H-IIA, the H-IIB launch vehicle, which is currently under development, in Japan Fiscal Year 2008.

Source JAXA