Technology of H-II Transfer Vehicle Rendezvous System

Abstract

The H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), which is a Japanese unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft, will deliver supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). The first HTV will be launched in 2009 from the Tanegashima Space Center aboard an H-IIB launch vehicle with up to 6,000kg of supplies. HTV approaches to the ISS and the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), known as Canadarm2, will grapple the HTV and berth it to the ISS. After the supplies, the HTV will then be loaded with waste materials and then separated from the ISS by SSRMS. HTV conducts departure sequence from ISS after release from SSRMS and reentry to the atmosphere. In this paper, technology of HTV automated Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) system is presented.