H-II Transfer Vehicle KOUNOTORI (HTV)

HTV3 mission logo

KOUNOTORI3 (HTV3) Mission

H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), KOUNOTORI3, will make the second operational flight to the International Space Station (ISS). KOUNOTORI3 delivers the followings:

Cargo loaded in the Pressurized Logistics Carrier (PLC)

• Food, commodities necessary for the ISS stay.
• Japan's primary cargo
  Aquatic Habitat (AQH), JEM-Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD), small satellites (CubeSats), Re-entry Data Recorder (i-Ball)
• Foreign primary cargo
  Catalytic Reactor (ORU, a part of Water Processing System), CubeSats

Cargo loaded in the Unpressurized Logistics Carrier (ULC)

• Japan's cargo
  Multi-mission Consolidated Equipment (MCE)
• Foreign cargo
  SCAN Testbed (NASA's payload)

KOUNOTORI3 will be unberthed from the ISS and reentered into the atmosphere after being loaded with trash and discarded items on the ISS.

News

KOUNOTORI3 Mission Completed （September 14, 2012）

KOUNOTORI3 (HTV3) reentered Earth's atmosphere at 2:27 p.m. on September 14, over the east coast of New Zealand. KOUNOTORI3 successfully completed its cargo supply mission to the ISS.

KOUNOTORI3 performed three de-orbit maneuvers for reentry （September 14, 2012）

On September 14, KOUNOTORI3 (HTV3) performed three de-orbit maneuvers for reentry into Earth's atmosphere. The third and final de-orbit maneuver was completed at 2:00 p.m.

Live Coverage of Rreentry Operations Begins （September 14, 2012）

Live coverage of KOUNOTORI3 (HTV3)'s reentry operations began. KOUNOTORI3's reentry is expected to occur at 2:24 p.m. on September 14, 2012.

» HTV3 Mission News

Features of KOUNOTORI3

Main engine (Credit: JAXA)

For its continuous and effective supply to the ISS in the future, KOUNOTORI3 adopts domestic products for its primary equipment such as main engine. In addition, development and improvement have been made to flexibly meet the operations requirement of the ISS. Under the cooperation between JAXA and private sector, KOUNOTORI3 carries an i-Ball to acquire data during the reentry into the atmosphere. KOUNOTORI3 will also attempt to capture the state of breakup of the vehicle.

»Go to "Feature" detailed page

Payload

AQH (Credit: JAXA)

The Japanese payload cargo manifest includes: AQH that accommodates small fishes such as Medaka, Japanese killifishes, Multi-mission Consolidated Equipment (MCE) which mounts 5 payloads, and J-SSOD that releases CubeSats with its platform grasped by the Kibo's Remote Manipulator System (RMS).

»Go to "Payload" detailed page

Flight Schedule

Item	Details and Plans
HTV Flight Name	KOUNOTORI3 (The third HTV flight: HTV3)
Launch Time	11:06:18 a.m., July 21, 2012
Launch Site	Launch Pad2 (LP2), Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC)
KOUNOTORI3 Capture	9:23 p.m. July 27, 2012
Berthing to the ISS	0:22 a.m. July 28, 2012
Separation from the ISS	0:50 a.m. September 13, 2012
Reentry	2:27 a.m. September 14, 2012
Altitude	Insertion Orbit: 200 km x 300 km (elliptical orbit) Rendezvous: Approx. 400km

*All times are Japan Standard Time (JST)