14 DAY TRIAL // They might have succeeded in growing their own salad, even one leafy and crunchy enough to be made into a proper salad, but astronauts aboard the International Space Station still need food, water and other supplies delivered to them every once in a while.
After all, lettuce sprinkled with some vinegar and oil isn't exactly the most satisfactory of meals, even if cooked and served in orbit.
This is why, this coming Sunday, 4.5 tons of supplies will be launched into space from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. The supplies, carried by a so-called Kounotori (“White Stork”) cargo craft, will reach the International Space Station next Thursday.
NASA tells us the Japanese cargo spacecraft, H-II Transport Vehicle (HTV)-5, is scheduled to launch at precisely 8:58 a.m. EDT, which is 9:58 p.m local time in Japan.
Should all go well, Thursday's reunion with the International Space Station will happen at about 7:10 a.m. EDT. Once the spacecraft is captured by the International Space Station and secured to it, astronauts will get to dig into the much-awaited supplies.
NASA will broadcast the event
US space agency NASA promises to broadcast not just the moment the Japanese cargo craft is launched from the Tanegashima Space Center but also the moment the spacecraft arrives at the International Space Station at the end of its four-day journey.
“The launch of a Japanese cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station will be broadcast live on NASA Television on Sunday, Aug. 16, followed by live coverage of its arrival at the orbiting laboratory Thursday, Aug. 20.”
“NASA TV coverage of the launch will begin at 8:15 a.m. NASA TV coverage of the rendezvous and grapple of the HTV-5 on Aug. 20 will begin at 5:30 a.m. Capture is scheduled for approximately 7:10 a.m. Coverage of the final installation of the cargo craft to Harmony will resume at 9:30 a.m.”
Aside from food and water, the Japanese craft will carry spare parts and experiment hardware to the orbital complex. Its arrival at the International Space Station will be closely monitored by astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren of NASA and Kimiya Yui of JAXA.
