Japan Agency Eyes Crewed HTV Variant

摘要

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is mulling the conversion of its expendable H-2A Transfer Vehicle (HTV) space freighter into an astronaut transport, die agency's top official said in an interview posted Feb. 7 on JAXA's website. "Now that die Space Shutde has been retired, our only way to send astronauts to the [international space station] is die Russian Soyuz spacecraft, so if die Soyuz has an accident dien we'll have no means of transporting astronauts at all," JAXA president Keiji Tachikawa said. "As we discuss how to secure transportation redundancy, people are looking to Japan's KOUNO-TORI space-station supply ship," which could be converted to carry astronaut crews, he said.