A Japanese HII-B rocket launches the unmanned Kounotori 6, or H-II Transfer Vehicle 6, toward the International Space Station on Dec. 9, 2016 from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center. The spacecraft will arrive at the space station on Dec. 13.

A robotic Japanese cargo spacecraft has begun its four-day journey to the International Space Station (ISS).

The uncrewed H-II Transfer Vehicle 6 (HTV-6) launched Friday (Dec. 9) at 8:26 a.m. EST (1326 GMT; 10:26 p.m. Japan time), rising into the skies above southern Japan's Tanegashima Space Center atop an H-IIB rocket. You can see our launch video recap of HTV-6's nighttime launch here.

HTV-6 is packed with more than 4.5 tons (4.1 metric tons) of supplies, spare parts, scientific equipment and water for the astronauts aboard the orbiting lab. [Japan's Robot Spaceship Fleet in Pictures]

A Japanese HII-B rocket launches the unmanned Kounotori 6, or H-II Transfer Vehicle 6, toward the International Space Station on Dec. 9, 2016 from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center. The spacecraft will arrive at the space station on Dec. 13. (Image credit: NASA TV)

"Also aboard the re-supply vehicle are six new lithium-ion batteries and adapter plates that will replace the nickel-hydrogen batteries currently used on the station to store electrical energy generated by the station's solar arrays," NASA officials wrote in a statement. "These will be installed during a series of spacewalks currently scheduled in January."

The freighter, which is also known as Kounotori 6 (after the Japanese word for "white stork"), is scheduled to arrive at the ISS early Tuesday morning (Dec. 13). ISS crewmembers will grapple HTV-6 using the orbiting lab's robotic arm, and will install the vehicle on the Harmony module's Earth-facing side, NASA officials said.

HTV-6 will stay attached to the ISS for about five weeks; the transfer vehicle will then be loaded with trash and sent to burn up in Earth's atmosphere. (Three of the four robotic re-supply spaceships operating today — HTV, Russia's Progress freighter and Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft — are disposable. Only SpaceX's Dragon capsule is designed to return to Earth in one piece.)

Today's successful liftoff comes just eight days after a Progress loaded with more than 2.5 tons (2.3 metric tons) of cargo fell back to Earth, apparently doomed by an issue with the third stage of the vessel's Soyuz rocket.

The ISS re-supply fleet has experienced a number of such failures recently: Rocket problems scuttled a Cygnus mission in October 2014, a Progress flight in April 2015 and a Dragon mission in June 2015. All three craft bounced back after these failures, subsequently flying successful missions (though it's unclear when Progress will fly again after last week's mishap).

The HTV fleet has a spotless record to date; all five previous Kounotori craft made it to the ISS successfully.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.</s>Japan's unmanned cargo spacecraft, "Kounotori" is to blast off from the southern island of Tanegashima around 10:30 pm local time attached to an H-IIB rocket (AFP Photo/STRINGER)

Tokyo (AFP) - Japan launched a cargo ship Friday bound for the International Space Station, carrying a 'space junk' collector that was made with the help of a fishnet company.

The vessel, dubbed "Kounotori" (stork in Japanese), blasted off from the southern island of Tanegashima just before 10:27 pm local time (1327 GMT) attached to an H-IIB rocket.

Scientists at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are experimenting with a tether to pull junk out of orbit around Earth, clearing up tonnes of space clutter including cast-off equipment from old satellites and pieces of rocket.

The launch was successful as "the satellite was removed from the rocket" and put into the planned orbit about 15 minutes after the liftoff, JAXA spokesman Nobuyoshi Fujimoto on Tanegashima told AFP.

More than 50 years of human space exploration since the Soviet-launched Sputnik satellite in 1957 has produced this hazardous belt of orbiting debris.

There are estimated to be more than 100 million pieces in orbit, posing a growing threat to future space exploration, scientists say.

Researchers are using a so-called electrodynamic tether made from thin wires of stainless steel and aluminium.

The idea is that one end of the strip will be attached to debris which can damage working equipment -- there are hundreds of collisions every year.

The electricity generated by the tether as it swings through the Earth's magnetic field is expected to have a slowing effect on the space junk, which should, scientists say, pull it into a lower and lower orbit.

Eventually the detritus will enter the Earth's atmosphere, burning up harmlessly long before it has a chance to crash to the planet's surface.

JAXA worked on the project with Japanese fishnet manufacturer Nitto Seimo to develop the cord, which has been about 10 years in the making.

"The tether uses our fishnet plaiting technology, but it was really tough to intertwine the very thin materials," company engineer Katsuya Suzuki told AFP.

"The length of the tether this time is 700 metre (2,300 feet), but eventually it's going to need to be 5,000 to 10,000 metre-long to slow down the targeted space junk," he added.

Previous experiments using a tether have been done in recent years.

Another spokesman for the space agency has said it hopes to put the junk collection system into more regular use by the middle of the next decade.

"If we are successful in this trial, the next step will be another test attaching one tip of the tether to a targeted object," he added.

The cargo ship launched Friday is also carrying other materials for the ISS including batteries and drinking water for the astronauts living there.</s>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A Japanese capsule blasted off with much-needed supplies for the International Space Station on Friday, a week after a Russian shipment was destroyed shortly after liftoff.

The Russian rocket accident and the grounding of one of NASA’s commercial suppliers make this delivery all the more urgent. The spacecraft should arrive at the station Tuesday.

“Have a safe flight,” French astronaut Thomas Pesquet said in a tweet from the space station, addressing the load. “Looking forward to your arrival!”

The capsule — called Kounotori, or white stork — contains nearly 5 tons of food, water and other supplies, including six new lithium-ion batteries for the station’s solar power system. Astronauts will conduct spacewalks next month to replace the old nickel-hydrogen batteries.

This is Japan’s sixth shipment to the 250-mile-high outpost, currently home to Pesquet, two Americans and three Russians. It launched from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.

Launches by SpaceX, meanwhile, have been on hold since a September rocket explosion on the pad in Cape Canaveral, Fla.</s>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - An unmanned H-2B rocket blasted off from Tanegashima island in southern Japan on Friday to send a cargo ship to the International Space Station, a NASA TV broadcast showed.

The delivery of about 4.5 tons (4,100 kg) of supplies for the six-member station crew took on fresh urgency after a botched Russian cargo run on December 1 and additional delays returning NASA contractor SpaceX to flight following an unrelated accident.

The rocket, carrying Japan’s HTV-6 cargo ship, blasted off at 8:26 a.m. EST (1326 GMT), flying over the Pacific Ocean on its way to space. The capsule is due to reach the station, a $100 billion laboratory flying about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth, on Tuesday.

In addition to food and supplies, the capsule is delivering six lithium-ion batters and adapter plates, weighing about 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg), which are needed for a planned upgrade of the station’s electrical system. The batteries will be installed during upcoming space walks, said NASA launch commentator Dan Huot.

Japan’s HTV capsules are one of four supply ships that fly to the station, a project of 15 nations. However, two of the four freighters are currently grounded following accidents.

A Russian Soyuz rocket failed to put a Progress capsule into orbit on Dec. 1 due to a problem with the booster's third-stage engine. The capsule burned up as it fell back into Earth's atmosphere, with debris crashing to the ground.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX is recovering from a launch pad explosion on Sept. 1 that destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket and a $200 million Israeli communications satellite. SpaceX now expects to return to flight in January.</s>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A Japanese capsule has been launched with much-needed supplies to the International Space Station.

Friday’s successful launch from Japan comes a week after a Russian shipment was destroyed shortly after liftoff. The Russian rocket accident and the grounding of one of NASA’s commercial suppliers make this delivery all the more urgent. The spacecraft should arrive at the station Tuesday.

The capsule — called Kounotori, or stork — contains nearly 5 tons of food, water and other supplies, including new lithium-ion batteries for the station’s solar power system. Astronauts will conduct spacewalks next month to replace the old nickel-hydrogen batteries that store energy generated by the station’s big solar panels.

SpaceX launches, meanwhile, have been on hold since a September rocket explosion on the pad in Florida.
JAXA launches the unmanned cargo spacecraft Kounotori 6, also known as HTV-6, from the Tanegashima Space Center to resupply the International Space Station.