Japan Has Already Launched World's Biggest Transport Spaceship

As recently stated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (abbreviated as JAXA), the Kounotori8 is known as the largest spacecraft for transportation purposes up to now. With the meaning of 'white stork', the spaceship has performed its eighth mission to supply the International Space Station (or ISS). The Kounotori8 should have been launched into space from Tanegashima Space Center in Minamitane, Japan on September 11th at 6.33 AM JST. However, due to a broke-out fire that occurred at 3:05 am (Japan Time), the event was canceled. 

The event has been postponed until September 24th at 1:30 (Japan Time). However, in the end, it could not come true. The provider who was responsible for the launching event, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries postponed it after analyzing the ISS and Soyuz spaceships. They might be concerned that the H-IIB launch system in the second phase probably focused on the Soyuz spaceship. 

At 1:05 (Japan Time) on September 25th, 2019, H-IIB finally flew into space from Tanegashima Space Center. It is expected to be available at ISS on the 28th of the same month. Its mission will be to provide approximately 5.3 tons of supplies for the astronauts on the ISS. Supplies include water, batteries, some fresh food, and equipment that are essential for space experiments. 

NASA added that the spacecraft is equipped with six batteries made from lithium-ion, as well as adapter plates. They aim to take the place of the old batteries made from nickel-hydrogen that provide energy for the far port truss segment of the station. The new batteries will be fitted to robots and spacewalks. NASA has also upgraded its satellite optical communication system named Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF-L) with some experiences conducted in spaceships. They also have prepared a payload to analyze the gravity influences on materials such as powder and granular.