Feasibility of additional HTV operation requirement for sample returning capability from the ISS

Abstract

HTV (H-II transfer vehicle) is under development in JAXA as a service vehicle which delivers several items up to 6 ton to the ISS (International Space Station), however, it was not expected to have a recovery capability from the ISS. But after the NASA announcement about the Space Shuttle retirement after 2010, it is expected that the sample returning capability from the ISS will be drastically reduced after the retirement. It may also degrade the worth of the ISS as an experimental center on orbit. So, JAXA started the feasibility study about the additional function on HTV to equip a re-entry capsule in it to enable the recovery operation from the ISS. This study shows the preliminary feasibility assessment result of returning capsule in HTV carrier and the feasibility to equip small capsule and jettison system in carrier without major modification or safety impact to the ISS.