Japan's New Resupply Craft HTV-X Separated from ISS

Tokyo, March 7 (Jiji Press)--Japan's newly developed HTV-X resupply vehicle, which had been docked with the International Space Station, was detached from the station on Saturday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said the same day.

The unit will fly around Earth on its own for about three months. It will enter the atmosphere after releasing a microsatellite and conducting a demonstration experiment of a thin and light deployable antenna.

The HTV-X is an unmanned supply craft and the successor to the "Konotori" (HTV), which achieved nine consecutive successful missions transporting supplies to the ISS between 2009 and 2020. After being launched aboard an H3 rocket last October, the first HTV-X unit was captured by Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, 56, who had been on a long-term stay at the ISS, using the station's robotic arm.

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