Japan's H-2B Rocket "Kounotori 5" Off to Space

Two days behind the scheduled lift-off due to bad weather, Japan's H-2B rocket "Kounotori (Stork) 5" was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center, Kagoshima, at 8:30 pm, August 19. The rocket went into orbit fifteen minutes after the blast. The rocket is unmanned and missioned to transport cargo up to the International Space Station.

Launching was delayed twice by bad weather and the scheduled mission of Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, 45, to grab Kounotori with the robot arm will have to be delayed accordingly. US and Russian cargo transporter rockets had failed three times thus far; Kounotori 5 carries water processor at the request of NASA.

H-2B is 57-meter long, 5.2 meters in diameter, and weighs 530 tons. The rocket's mission is to launch the unmanned Kounotori 5 transporting water, food and general cargo to the International Space Station.

The Tanegashima Space Center is now a popular sightseeing site for many space-minded tourists and the Space Science Technology Museum overlooking the launching site was jam-packed the days before the launch. A Yukiko Yamazaki, 36, from Nagoya said she could not wait to feel how it is when such a huge rocket blasts off.

Another Japanese astronaut, Kegehiko Hoshide, said in an interview prior to the launch that unmanned flights to the International Space Station are vital in that astronauts' daily needs and experiment apparates sustain the life of the space station itself. He added, "Kounotoris have made it from No.1 through 4 and this one, Kounotori 5, has no reason to fail".