NASA will broadcast the departure of a Japanese cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station beginning at 1 p.m. EDT Friday, Nov. 1, on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
Ground controllers will use the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s H-II Transport Vehicle-8 (HTV-8) several hours before its release. Expedition 61 Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Jessica Meir of NASA will take over the controls of the robotic arm to release the spacecraft at 1:20 p.m.
HTV-8 delivered more than four tons of scientific experiments, including an upgrade to the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF-L), a small-sized satellite optical communication system (SOLISS), and a payload for testing the effects of gravity on powder and granular material (Hourglass). The spaceship also delivered supplies and new lithium-ion batteries for an upgrade from the nickel-hydrogen batteries that store power generated by the station’s solar arrays.
The cargo craft spent five weeks attached to the orbiting laboratory following a Sept. 24 launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. It will be loaded with trash and the nickel-hydrogen batteries removed from the station over a series of recent spacewalks.
Following its departure from the space station, HTV-8 will be commanded to deorbit on Saturday, Nov. 2, and burn up harmlessly in the Earth’s atmosphere. The deorbit will not air on NASA TV.
Get breaking news, images and features from the station on social media at:
