[Update 09/11/19 4:34 AM JPT: JAXA and MHI confirm the launch is scrubbed for today.
Well find out more at a press conference at 6 AM JPT, including whether there is any chance of making an attempt in the backup window.][Update 09/11/19 4:07 AM JPT: JAXA and MHI confirm that there is a fire on the Mobile Launcher upon which the H-IIB is loaded to roll out to the launch pad.
The fire, described as small, started at 3:10 AM JST and continues as of this writing at 4:07 AM JST, while attempts are underway to extinguish it, as you can see in the photo captured on site by TechCrunch below.
Well provide more updates as they become available.]Mitsubishi Heavy Industriess Launch Services division is all set to send a crucial cargo payload to the International Space Station from JAXA today.
The launch is scheduled for 6:33 AM Japan Standard Time (5:33 PM ET/2:33 PM PT), and will take off from Tanegashima Island, at JAXAs Tanegashima Space Center.The rocket used for this launch is the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) H-IIB, and this is the eighth flight launch of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) that MHI designed and built in Japan.In the H-IIB configuration, the MHI-built rocket that will transport he HTV includes a liquid propellant central core, along with four solid propellant rocket boosters to give it additional life capacity.
This particular mission will see the HTV loaded with 5.3 metric tons (just under six U.S.
tons) of supplies for the ISS on board in both pressurized and unpressurized cargo containers, which divvy up the total capacity.One of the crucial pieces of cargo going up is a small satellite deployment device, called Kibo, created by the Kyushu Institute of Technology and the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Science.
Itll be used to deploy a range of super compact CubeSats also on board, including a propulsion tech demo created by the University of Tokyo and startup Space BD, which is the first company awarded a contract by JAXA to be the commercial operator for deploying smallsats from the ISS via Kibo.NASA TV will be carrying the launch live via the stream above, with their coverage kicking off around 5 PM ET (2 PM PT/6 AM JST).