Report: NASA may buy Japanese spaceship
TOKYO (AP) - July 21, 2008 Japan's largest daily newspaper reports NASA is in unofficial
talks with Japan's space agency to purchase the H-2 Transfer
Vehicle, or HTV.
The HTV is an unmanned cargo vessel being designed to deliver
supplies to the space station. The orbiting facility is currently
kept stocked by the space shuttle as well as Russian and European
spacecraft.
The U.S. has relied on the space shuttle for manned missions
into space since 1981, and is set to retire the aging workhorse in
2010. Its replacement, the Orion space capsule is behind schedule
isn't due to start astronaut test launches until early 2015.
