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Science NASA discussing Japanese purchase of robotic cargo vehicles
Science NASA discussing Japanese purchase of robotic cargo vehicles | NASA discussing Japanese purchase of robotic cargo vehicles |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Tuesday, 22 July 2008 | |
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Page 1 of 2 According to the report, the H-2 Transfer Vehicles would by used by the United States to deliver supplies and general cargo to the International Space Station once the U.S. space shuttle fleet is retired in 2010. Although not officially announced by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Japanese media began reporting on Sunday, July 20, 2008, that JAXA, which is the Japanese equivalent to the U.S. space agency NASA, has been contacted by NASA officials for the purpose of buying the unmanned cargo vehicles, along with the H-2B launch vehicle. Both the H-2 cargo vehicle (HCV) and the H-2B launch vehicle, both currently under development in Japan, are being manufactured under the authority of JAXA, using a group of Japanese manufacturers, among them Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electrid Corp. Specifically, the report began to surface on Sunday, July 20, 2008, from the Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun, a nationally circulated Japanese newspaper. The Yomiuri Shimbun article “NASA eyes purchasing Japan's HTV spacecraft” appeared online (in English) on Sunday. The article states, “Behind the move is NASA's concern that the retirement of its space shuttles will make it difficult for the United States to fulfill its responsibilities to deliver water, food and materials for scientific experiments to the International Space Station.” The Japanese newspaper reports that NASA has been in negotiations with the JAXA since February 2008. The HTV, a cylindrical cargo spacecraft, is reported to cost about US$131 million, or about 14 billion yen. It is approximately 30.2 feet (9.2 meters) in length and around 14.4 feet (4.4 meters) in diameter. Please read page two for additional information about the HTV. |
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