JAXA's HTV9 to depart from space station; NASA TV to provide live coverage

HTV9 is the ninth flight of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV/Kounotori), an unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft of JAXA that delivers supplies to the ISS.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA's) H-II Transfer Vehicle KOUNOTORI9, aka HTV9 will depart from the International Space Station (ISS) on August 18, with live coverage beginning at 1:15 p.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency's official website.

HTV 9 was launched in May 2020 from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan and delivered four tons of new science experiments, station hardware, crew supplies and fuel to the orbital complex, including new lithium-ion batteries that were used to upgrade the station's power systems as part of the battery replacement mission.

After three months of stay, the cargo spacecraft is gearing up for its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. NASA astronaut and Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy will use the Canadarm 2 robotic arm to release the spacecraft from the space station at 1:35 p.m. EDT. The spacecraft which is loaded with trash from ISS will burn up harmlessly over the Pacific Ocean, NASA said in a release on Friday.

HTV9 is the ninth flight of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV/Kounotori), an unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft of JAXA that delivers supplies to the ISS. Kounotori has delivered more than 40 tons of supplies to space station crews and this will be its final station departure. Currently, JAXA is working on a new fleet of HTV cargo craft, the HTV-X, which is targeted for its first launch in 2022.