Japan launches Kounotori cargo transporter on final mission to ISS

Japan launched a rocket Thursday carrying a Kounotori unmanned cargo vessel, developed by the country's space agency, on its final mission to transport supplies to the International Space Station.The H2B rocket carrying the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kounotori 9 lifted off at 2:31 a.m. from the remote Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan.Fifteen minutes later, the Kounotori was detached from the rocket and put into a planned orbit. The cargo vessel, which can hold up to 6 tons of supplies, has been launched successfully in all nine of its missions d…READ FULL ARTICLE