Posted: Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 10:40 AM ET (1440 GMT)
An H-2B rocket launched the third in a series of Japanese cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station on Saturday. The H-2B rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan at 10:06 pm EDT Friday (0206 GMT, 11:06 am local time Saturday) and released the HTV-3 spacecraft into orbit about 15 minutes later. The spacecraft will arrive at the vicinity of the ISS on July 27, when it will be grappled by the station's robotic arm and berthed to the station. The HTV is carrying 4.6 tons of equipment and supplies, including several cubesats that will later be deployed from the ISS.
