Kounotori 5

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Kounotori 5
HTV-5 approach towards the International Space Station.jpg
Mission type ISS resupply
Operator JAXA
COSPAR ID 2015-038A
SATCAT № 40873
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type HTV
Manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Start of mission
Launch date 19 August 2015, 11:50:49 (2015-08-19UTC11:50:49Z) UTC
Rocket H-IIB
Launch site Tanegashima Y2
Contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
End of mission
Disposal Deorbited
Decay date 29 September 2015, 20:33 UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 400 kilometres (250 mi)[1]
Apogee 402 kilometres (250 mi)[1]
Inclination 51.65 degrees[1]
Period 92.58 minutes[1]
Epoch 24 August 2015, 11:32:20 UTC[1]
Berthing at ISS
Berthing port Harmony nadir
RMS capture 24 August 2015, 10:28 UTC
Berthing date 24 August 2015, 17:28 UTC[2]
Unberthing date 28 September 2015, 11:12 UTC
RMS release 28 September 2015, 16:53 UTC
Time berthed 34 days, 23 hours, 25 minutes
← Kounotori 4 Kounotori 6

Kounotori 5, also known as HTV-5, is the fifth flight of the H-II Transfer Vehicle, an uncrewed cargo spacecraft launched to resupply the International Space Station. It was launched on August 19, 2015.

Specifications

Major changes of Kounotori 5 from previous Kounotori are:[3]

  • Solar panels were reduced to 49 panels, down from HTV-1 and Kounotori 2's 57, Kounotori 3's 56, and Kounotori 4's 55, since the analysis of the data from previous missions showed that fewer panels were sufficient.[4] A sensor-mount outlet was added since Kounotori 4 at a place where previously occupied by a solar panel, and on Kounotori 5 it is used to attach an environment measurement equipment (Kounotori Advanced Space Environment Research equipment (KASPER))[5][6]
  • Improvement of loading the Cargo Transfer Bag allows the increased capacity (maximum 242 CTBs compared to previous 230), and more late access cargo (max 92 CTBs compared to previous 80).[3]

When approaching to ISS, previous missions were held at Approach Initiation (AI) point at 5 km behind the ISS for system checkout, but Kounotori 5 was changed to continue the approach without holding, to simplify the operation.[3]

Cargo

Kounotori 5 was planned to carry about 5.5 tonnes cargo, consisting of 4.5 t in the pressurised compartment and 1 t in the unpressurised compartment.[3][7] Due primarily to the launch failure of SpaceX CRS-7, additional 0.2 tonnes were added as the late access cargo. Total cargo weight was 6,057 kg.[8]

Pressurised cargo include[3][9] potable water (600 liter), food, crew commodities, system components, and science experiment equipments. System components include: UPA Fluids Control and Pump Assembly (FCPA), WPA Multifiltration Beds (WFB), a galley rack to be placed in Unity, and Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue (SAFER). Science experiment equipments include Mouse Habitat Unit (MHU), Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF), Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR-2), Exposed Experiment Handrail Attachment Mechanism (ExHAM 2), NanoRacks External Platform (NREP), and CubeSats (pt (SERPENS), S-CUBE, fourteen Flock-2b,[10] AAUSAT5, and GOMX-3).

Unpressurised cargo consists of the Calorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET).[3]

Originally a NASA unpressurised cargo was planned, but it was canceled.[11]

On departure from ISS, unpressured cargo bay will carry Multi-mission Consolidated Equipment (MCE), Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES), and a NASA experiment module Space Test Program Houston 4 (STP-H4), to dispose by destructive reentry to Earth atmosphere.[3]

Operation

Launch and rendezvous with the ISS

It was originally planned for launch in 2014 but was later postponed due to delay in the construction and qualification testing[citation needed] of payload to fly on the capsule.[12]

In June 2015, it was scheduled to be launched at around 13:01 UTC on August 16, 2015.[13]

Due to the bad weather forecast, on August 14 the launch was postponed to August 17,[14] and then on August 16 it was postponed again to August 19.[15]

Kounotori 5 was successfully launched with a H-IIB carrier rocket flying from pad 2 of the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at Tanegashima at 11:50:49 UTC on 19 August 2015.[16] Communication and three-axis attitude controls were established shortly after the launch.[17] Phase Maneuver was performed by 19:25 UTC on August 20,[18] and the first Height Adjustment Maneuver by 17:55 UTC on August 22.[19] The second and third Height Adjustment Maneuver were performed by 03:07 and 06:12 UTC on August 24, respectively.[20][21]

The ISS's robotic arm SSRMS grappled Kounotori 5 at 10:29 UTC on 24 Aug 2015, and fastened to ISS's CBM at 14:58 UTC on 24 Aug 2015. All berthing operations were completed at 17:28 UTC on 24 Aug 2015.[22]

Operation while berthed to ISS

From 02:27 UTC on August 25, the Exposed Pallet (EP), which is carrying CALET, was extracted from Kounotori 5's Unpressurized Logistics Carrier (ULC) by the ground-controlled SSRMS, and handed off to the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS), which is also remote-controlled from ground. The JEMRMS then attached the palette to the JEM Exposed Facility (EF).[23][24] Later, at 14:29 UTC on the same day, CALET was removed from the palette and installed to the Exposed Facility by the JEMRMS.[25]

The ISS crew opened the hatch of the Kounotori's Common Berthing Mechanism and entered to Pressurized Logistics Carrier at 10:24 UTC on 25 Aug 2015[23] and began transferring the cargo.

Departure from ISS and reentry to earth atmosphere

Kounotori 5 was unberthed from the CBM at 11:12, 28 September 2015 UTC by SSRMS robotic arm and moved to the release position. The first attempt of the release at 15:20 UTC was aborted due to an anomaly of the SSRMS.[26] After one ISS orbit, Kounotori 5 was released from the SSRMS at 16:53, 28 September 2015 UTC, Expedition 45 Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of JAXA, backed up by NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren, commanded the SSRMS.

After the orbit control maneuvers, Kounotori 5 reentered to the Earth atmosphere over the southern pacific ocean around 20:33, 29 September 2015 UTC.[27]

References

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External links