Replacement of Hardware Control Panel by Portable Computer System. HCP was a dedicated control command box which allowed ISS crew to send control commands to Kounotori. For Kounotori 7, this is to be replaced by a portable computer.
To enable HSRC retrieval, the destructive re-entry of Kounotori 7 and the splashdown of HSRC is planned to take place in the northwestern Pacific Ocean near Minami-Tori-shima, east of Bonin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands, instead of the southern Pacific Ocean used by the previous missions.
Reentry capsule
Along with resupplying the ISS, this Kounotori flight tested the HTV Small Re-entry Capsule, a reentry capsule similar in function to the VBK-Raduga carried onboard Progress flights to the Mir space station. Essentially a miniaturized HTV-R capsule, it will be carried in the pressurized section of the vehicle. After departing from the station, ground control will remotely command Kounotori to release the capsule at an altitude of. The capsule incorporates nitrogencold gasreaction control system with 3D printed nozzles, and will autonomously perform attitude control to mitigate shock during descent. Splash-landing off the coast of the Ogasawara Islands, the capsule will be retrieved by ship. It will then be airlifted to Ibaraki Airport via Minami-Tori-shima, from where the samples will be delivered to researchers. The capsule can contain a total of 20 kg of material. The capsule has a diameter of 84 cm, a height of 66 cm, and a mass of less than 180 kg. Tiger Corporation developed the capsule's double vacuum insulated container by applying technology used in vacuum flasks. Some samples produced in the microgravity environment of the ISS deteriorate easily, thus a quick return to the surface is desired. For this demonstration flight, samples including ISS-manufactured protein crystals are planned to be placed inside. On 22 October 2015, a high-altitude drop test of the capsule was successfully conducted off the coast of Taiki, Hokkaido. A second test was conducted in 21 September 2016, with conditions and parameters closer to the actual capsule than the previous year's test. The third and fourth drop tests were done in July and November 2017, respectively.
Cargo
Kounotori 7 carries about 6.2 tonnes of cargo, consisting of 4.3 t in the pressurized compartment and 1.9 t in the unpressurized compartment. Cargo in the pressurized compartment include:
Initially Kounotori 7 was scheduled to launch at 22:32 UTC on 10 September 2018, but was postponed due to bad weather forecast at a ground tracking station. It was rescheduled to 13 September, 21:20 UTC, but adverse weather forecast at the launch site pushed one day further to 14 September, 20:59:14 UTC. During the preflight check, a problem was found in the blowoff valve of the launch vehicle second stage oxygen tank, and the launch was scrubbed. After the problem was resolved, the launch was rescheduled to 21 September, ~18:15 UTC. Bad weather forecast pushed it one day to ~17:52 UTC, 22 September 2018. The H-IIB launch vehicle carrying Kounotori 7 launched at 17:52:27 UTC on 22 September 2018. It arrived at the proximity of International Space Station on 27 September 2018, and the station's Space Station Remote Manipulator System grappled it at 11:36 UTC.
Operation while berthed to ISS
Exposed Pallet, which carries the replacement batteries for ISS, was extracted from Kounotori's Unpressurized Logistics Carrier by the SSRMS and transferred to the Mobile Base System Payload/Orbital Replacement Unit Accommodations on 28 September 2018. Due to the launch failure of Soyuz MS-10, planned extravehicular activity to replace the batteries of ISS could not be performed while the Kounotori 7 was berthed to ISS. The Exposed Pallet will remain at the ISS after departure of Kounotori 7.
Departure from ISS and reentry to the Earth atmosphere
Kounotori 7 was demated from Common Berthing Mechanism of Harmony module by SSRMS at 23:32 UTC on 6 November 2018, and it was released into orbit on 7 November 2018, 16:50 UTC. After a series of trajectory control manoeuvres, the final deorbit burn completed at 21:14 UTC, 10 November 2018. Separation of HTV Small Re-entry Capsule from Kounotori 7 was confirmed at 21:24 UTC. Estimated time of the reentry to Earth atmosphere of Kounotori 7 was 21:38 UTC, and the splashdown of residual debris at 21:48 - 22:12 UTC. Splashdown of HSRC was confirmed at 22:06 UTC, and it was retrieved by the recovery ship at 02:25, 11 November. The ship arrived at Minami-Tori-Shima on 19:50, 12 November. The retrieved specimen was transported by aircraft to Ibaraki Airport, and finally arrived at Tsukuba Space Center on 13 November, 00:42 UTC.
