Launch of Japan’s seventh HTV supply ship reset for Saturday

Japanese space officials have rescheduled the launch of an H-2B rocket and a space station-bound HTV supply ship for Saturday after halting a countdown last week due to a propulsion system problem and bypassing a launch opportunity Friday because of a poor weather forecast. Originally scheduled for Sept. 10, the resupply launch was postponed as a typhoon skirted Guam, home of a tracking station needed to receive telemetry from the H-2B rocket during its flight. Managers rolled the H-2B rocket out to its launch pad ahead of a launch attempt Sept. 14, but the launch team called off the liftoff after fueling the launcher to investigate a valve problem in the H-2B’s second stage, according to officials from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the rocket’s contractor. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 21)