H-2B rocket lifts off with supplies for International Space Station

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TANEGASHIMA ISLAND, Kagoshima Prefecture—After a two-week delay, an H-2B rocket was launched here on Sept. 25, carrying an unmanned supply vehicle that will dock with the International Space Station (ISS).

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The H-2B Launch Vehicle No. 8 lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center here at 1:05 a.m., and 15 minutes later, the Kounotori (HTV) vehicle with about 5 tons of goods, including food, drinks, clothes, batteries and other items, was released into orbit.

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The rocket’s launch was initially scheduled for Sept. 11, but it was called off after a fire broke out around the base of the launch platform.

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Static electricity had burned a heat-resistant material, so the material was covered with an aluminum sheet to prevent static electricity for the latest launch.

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The HTV is also carrying an ultra-small satellite that will be launched from Japan’s Kibo laboratory on the ISS, cell-culture devices and experimental equipment for optical communications developed by Sony Computer Science Laboratories Inc.

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The HTV is scheduled to dock with the ISS on the night of Sept. 28.

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So far, a total of 48 H-2B and H-2A rockets have been launched. The last failure was the H-2A Rocket No. 6 in 2003.

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