- Japan launched an unmanned spacecraft towards the International Space Station after a fire early this month delayed the mission. The H-2B rocket lifted off at 1:05 am local time (1605 GMT Tuesday) with cargo vessel Kounotori8, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
The launch took place from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan. - Public broadcaster NHK cited Mitsubishi Heavy as saying the fire was likely ignited by static electricity generated when liquid oxygen from the rocket came into contact with heat-resistant material on the launch pad.
Antonov An-225 Mriya
- It is strategic airlift cargo aircraft designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union during the 1980s.
- The single example built has the Ukrainian civil registration UR-82060. A second airframe with a slightly different configuration.
