Japanese Cargo Ship Arrives at the International Space Station

Loaded with more than four tons of supplies and experiments, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s unpiloted H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-6) arrived at the International Space Station Dec. 13 four days after its launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. Dubbed “Kounotori”, the Japanese word for “white stork”, the resupply craft completed its rendezvous to the station and was captured by Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency operating the Canadarm2 robotic arm from the station’s cupola.