Capsule of ISS Experiment Samples Returns to Earth

Tokyo, Nov. 11 (Jiji Press)--A compact capsule containing experiment samples from the International Space Station re-entered the Earth's atmosphere after being detached from the Kounotori 7 unmanned cargo spacecraft and landed in the Pacific on Sunday morning. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, retrieved the capsule later in the morning. This is the first time for Japan to collect samples from the ISS. Only the United States and Russia have carried out retrievals. Kounotori 7 burned up when it re-entered the atmosphere. The capsule flew over waters off Ishikawa Prefecture and over the Izu Peninsula before making a parachute-assisted landing at a location some 660 kilometers south-southeast of Minamitorishima, a Pacific island some 1,800 kilometers from central Tokyo. The re-entry capsule, shaped like a cone, is about 84 centimeters in diameter and 66 centimeters in height. It has a 30-liter double-layered vacuum insulation container developed by major Japanese thermos bottle and rice cooker maker Tiger Corp. The temperature on the surface of the capsule reaches about 2,000 degrees Celsius when it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere, but the insulation container protects samples from the extreme temperature and impact shocks. An astronaut staying at the ISS put protein samples from experiments carried out at Japan's Kibo experimental module of the ISS and other items into the container, along with refrigerants. Kounotori 7 was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Sept. 23 and docked with the ISS on Sept. 28. It transported items including fresh food, experiment samples and Japanese-made large lithium-ion batteries to the ISS. The spacecraft was separated from the ISS on Nov. 8, carrying waste from the ISS. It gradually lowered its altitude before the re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. END