Space Station crew captures Japanese cargo craft

Japan's "White Stork" cargo craft awaits capture. (NASA)

A Japanese cargo craft loaded with tons of fresh food and equipment was plucked out of orbit by the crew of the International Space Station today following it's five day orbital journey.

Space station astronauts Paolo Nespoli and Catherine Coleman used a 58-foot robotic arm to capture the unmanned craft at 6:41 a.m. EST, as the orbital pair flew 224 miles high off the coast of eastern Madagascar.

At the Japanese Space Agency's control room, cheers and applause broke out as Nespoli confirmed the capture.

In Houston, mission control's Megan McArthur radioed congratulations to the crew and to the ground controllers.

"It demonstrates what we can do when humans and robots work together," Coleman exclaimed with pride. "We look forward to bringing Kounotori, or HTV 2, on board the International Space Station."

The Japanese craft is known as KOUNOTORI 2, or "White Stork" in the native language, was launched from the southern end of Japan last Saturday with over four tons of water.

The craft will be docked to Harmony at about 11 a.m. this morning.

Working from the robotics work station in the Italian-built Cupola module, Nespoli and Coleman worked with ground controllers to monitor the 33-foot long craft's position.

Cupola is a 360-degree window view, earth facing node positioned to support incoming and out going spacecraft.

As the orbiting craft's flew 222 miles high above Turkey, the cargo craft began a holding position of 820 feet from the space station at 4:53 a.m.

Thirty minutes later, the craft resumed slowly closing in on the station's Destiny module.

By 5:45 am, the craft had moved to within 290 feet and with a closing rate of four feet per second.

The craft's arrival is the first of three unmanned cargo crafts and one space shuttle ferrying supplies to earth's orbital outpost in space over the next month.

On Saturday evening, a Russian Progress craft is scheduled to dock, followed by a European supply ship on Feb. 23. Shuttle Discovery loaded with tons of supplies and a new storage module is targeted to dock three days later.

On Feb. 18, the HTV 2 will be moved to the back side of the Harmony node due to space shuttle Discovery's expected station arrival a week later. The craft will stay at station until late-March when it will be undocked and sent back down toward a March 29 reentry.

Station commander Scott Kelly and Russian flight engineers Dmitry Kondratyev, Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka round out the space station's Expedition 26 crew of six.

Japan successfully launches cargo craft to space station

Japan's pride and their future lifts-off on Saturday. (JAXA)

Japan's largest rocket successfully carried into earth orbit today their second supply ship loaded with supplies bound for the International Space Station.

The 33-foot long supply craft, also known as the KOUNOTORI 2, is an improved version of the first supply craft launched in 2009 to allow for more cargo.

KOUNOTORI was selected as the name in a contest held by Japan's space agency JAXA, and means "White Stork" in the native language.

On board the supply craft is 9,000 pounds of research equipment, computers, spacewalking equipment and personal gear for the crew.

One of the partners of the space station, the pride of Japan and their space future rode on today's launch.

"Even under the pressure of budget restrictions", HTV Project manager Yoshihiko Torano said prior to launch day, "no failure or excuse is acceptable."

The second flight of the HII-B rocket launched on time at 12:37:57 a.m. EST (2:37 pm local time) from the Tanegashima Space Center, located on the southern tip of Japan.

As the white rocket launched using a cryogenic fueled main stage with a core engine and four strap on solid fueled boosters, it soared into several wind gusts prior to pushing into supersonic speeds.

At lift-off, the space station soared 224 miles high above the equator over the central Atlantic Ocean, while two of the outpost's six crew members stayed up several hours past their bed time to watch the lift-off.

Station crew members Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli watched from the Destiny module the launch live over an Internet feed.

As the rocket tracked southeast from the island nation toward an orbital inclination of 51.65 degrees, the four boosters separated just over two minutes into the flight.

At 12:53:08 a.m., the new supply craft broke free from it's booster and was alone to soar upon the ocean of space and toward it's port-of-call.

It will be Coleman and Nespoli who on Thursday will snare the White Stork with the station's robotic arm and ease it to a docking to the earth facing side of the Harmony module at around 7:42 a.m.

Once the craft docks, sixteen bolts will be driven to secure the cylindrical module to the outpost.

Hours following the berthing of the new Japanese supply craft, Russia will launch their own resupply craft, Progress M-09M to begin a two day orbital trip to station.

One day after Progress' docking to the Russian Pirs module on Jan. 29, the KOUNOTORI 2 will be moved several meters away to the zenith port on Harmony.

Station commander Scott Kelly and Russian flight engineers Dmitry Kondratyev, Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka round out the space station's Expedition 26 crew of six.

Japan became the fourth country in 2009 to have the ability to launch an unmanned craft to the station loaded with fresh supplies.

Japan's hopes ride on resupply trip to space station

Italy's Paolo Nespoli at the station's workstation. (NASA)

Japan will kick-off a very busy week on Saturday as they launch a resupply craft to the International Station Station along with the future of their space program.

The week promises to be one of the busiest periods aboard the space station in it's twelve year history.

Japan's largest rocket the HII-B will carry into earth orbit their second supply ship, KOUNOTORI 2 loaded with supplies located in both a pressurized and non-pressurized section.

The supply craft, also known as the HTV 2, is an improved version of the first supply craft launched in 2009 to allow for more cargo.

KOUNOTORI was selected as the name in a contest held by Japan's space agency JAXA, and means "White Stork" in the native language.

One of the partners of the space station, the pride of Japan and their space future will also be riding on this week's launch.

HTV Project manager Yoshihiko Torano expressed his thoughts on the flight, "I feel that expectations this time (for a successful flight) are probably 100 percent. If, by any chance, we fail this time, we will be criticized".

Japan became the fourth country in 2009 to have the ability to launch an unmanned craft to the station loaded with fresh supplies.

"Even under the pressure of budget restrictions", Torano added, "no failure or excuse is acceptable."

The HII-B rocket is scheduled to lift-off on January 22 at 12:37:05 a.m. EST (2:37 pm local time) from the Tanegashima Space Center. The flight will mark the HII-B second flight.

Clouds forecast for Thursday delayed the launch date by two days.

The HII-B is launched using a cryogenic fueled main stage rocket with a core engine and four strap on solid fueled boosters.

The rocket will head out over the central Pacific Ocean on a 51.65 degree inclination.

"I think we are more strained than the last (flight)," Torano states, "because I believe that the success of the second mission is often believed to be a matter of course."

Once the supply craft reaches orbit, controllers on the ground will spend the next week using it's thrusters to maneuver it higher as it catches up with it's port-of-call.

The KOUNOTORI 2 will arrive at the space station on January 27, and working from the robotics work station (below) in the American Destiny module, NASA astronaut Cady Coleman and Italian Paolo Nespoli will use the station's robotic arm to reach out and grapple the craft.

The station's arm is scheduled to dock the supply ship to the earth facing side of the Harmony module at around 7:42 a.m. later that same day.

During the past two weeks, Coleman and Nespoli have been busy running through software practices at the workstation preparing for the capture and mating of the craft to Harmony.

Once the craft docks, sixteen bolts will be driven to secure the cylindrical module to the outpost.

Station commander and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian flight engineers Dmitry Kondratyev, Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka round out the space station's crew of six.

Hours following the berthing of the Japanese supply craft, Russia will launch their own resupply craft, Progress M-09M, for a two day orbital trip to station.

One day after Progress' docking to the Russian Pirs module on Jan. 29, the KOUNOTORI 2 will be undocked and moved several meters away to the zenith port on Harmony.

The busy week will also include a Russian spacewalk by Kondratyev and Skripochka from the Pirs airlock on Jan. 21, beginning at 9:21 a.m.