Japan’s first space cargo ship ready to fly

Japan’s first unmanned spacecraft to haul cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) is nearly ready for its maiden launch next week.

The new cargo ship is poised to launch toward the station on Sept. 10 at 1:01 p.m. EDT (1701 GMT) from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan on a shakedown cruise. If all goes well, the inaugural spacecraft, called the H-2 Transfer Vehicle 1 (HTV-1), should arrive at the station on Sept. 17.

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/090904-japan-htv-ready.html