The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) H-IIB Transfer Vehicle has finally arrived at JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) on Tanegashima island
It arrived on 23 April but in bits, broken down into its constituent parts, the pressurized logistic carrier, unpressurized logistic carrier, the avionics module, and the propulsion module
The HTV is to be launched in September to the International Space Station by JAXA's new Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIB rocket, designed with a new first stage to launch the HTV. The September mission will also be the rocket's maiden launch
Now the HTV's modules are all at TNSC they will be assembled into the final vehicle and then undergo checks before mating with the H-IIB rocket
It arrived on 23 April but in bits, broken down into its constituent parts, the pressurized logistic carrier, unpressurized logistic carrier, the avionics module, and the propulsion module
The HTV is to be launched in September to the International Space Station by JAXA's new Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIB rocket, designed with a new first stage to launch the HTV. The September mission will also be the rocket's maiden launch
Now the HTV's modules are all at TNSC they will be assembled into the final vehicle and then undergo checks before mating with the H-IIB rocket
on April 27, 2009 12:19 AM | Reply
Please tell me that the maiden flight of both the HTV and the H-IIB is not a cargo mission to the ISS, that it is a rendezvous test flight instead. Or are the Japanese cutting things so close that the first flight IS the cargo mission?
on April 27, 2009 8:57 AM | Reply
Yep the first mission is the cargo mission. In their defence the Europeans did the same but their upgrade to their EADS Astrium Ariane 5 was a change to the upper stage that ESA officials played down when I asked about the challenge that presented. Apparently all the work was done basically by the French and was no great challenge for them so I am guessing this technology was well proven and probably related to French military rocket technology. Changing your first-stage however is something more and so I wonder about the likelihood of it all going right on the night so to speak.
on April 28, 2009 9:45 PM | Reply
Are you kidding ? the upper stage of Ariane 5 is German.
on April 29, 2009 8:46 AM | Reply
ESA told me CNES did the work. And I think you are over simplfying the network of suppliers for EADS Astrium for Ariane 5.