Japan Rocket Lifts Supplies To Space Station After Foreign Failures

KAGOSHIMA, JAPAN - AUG. 19: Japan successfully launched a rocket carrying supplies to the International Space Station from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Wednesday, the nation's space agency said, after similar missions by other countries failed recently. The H2B rocket lifted off at 8:50 p.m. Japan time, delivering the Konotori 5 cargo transporter into orbit some 15 minutes later, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency or JAXA said. The unmanned transporter, carrying 5.5 tons of supplies and experimental equipment, is due to reach the ISS, which flies about 400 kilometers above Earth, at around 8 p.m. Monday.

Mitsubishi Heavy shows H2B rocket to press

Mitsubishi Heavy shows H2B rocket to press

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. shows the H2B rocket, planned to be launched this summer, to the press at its plant in the village of Tobishima, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on May 22, 2015. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Mitsubishi Heavy shows H2B rocket to press

Mitsubishi Heavy shows H2B rocket to press

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. shows the first (L) and second stages of the H2B rocket, planned to be launched this summer, to the press at its plant in the village of Tobishima, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on May 22, 2015. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Mitsubishi Heavy shows H2B rocket to press

Mitsubishi Heavy shows H2B rocket to press

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. shows the H2B rocket, planned to be launched this summer, to the press at its plant in the village of Tobishima, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on May 22, 2015. The first stage is equipped with two engines as seen in this photo. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan's Kounotori cargo transporter to ISS

Japan's Kounotori cargo transporter to ISS

A light trail left by an H2B rocket glows over Mt. Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in this long exposure photo taken in the early hours of May 21, 2020, from the city of Kagoshima. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched the rocket carrying a Kounotori unmanned cargo vessel on its final mission to transport supplies to the International Space Station. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo