Japan’s Kounotori Spaceship Attached To International Space Station

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kounotori 8 H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-8) has been successfully installed to the Earth-facing port of the International Space Station’s (ISS) Harmony module, said NASA.

Kounotori, which transaltes to "white stork" in Japanese, delivered six new lithium-ion batteries and corresponding adapter plates. The new batteries and adapter plates will replace the aging nickel-hydrogen batteries for two power channels on the ISS's station’s far port truss segment, the US Space agency said.

"The batteries will be installed through a series of robotics and spacewalks the station’s crew members will conduct later this year," NASA said.

Additional experiments on board HTV-8 include 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 space agency said.

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