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日本の宇宙輸送船「こうのとり」5号機が8月19日夜、鹿児島県の種子島宇宙センターからH-IIBロケットで打ち上げられた。約15分後には地球周回軌道に入った。24日夜、宇宙飛行士の油井亀美也さんらが滞在する国際宇宙ステーション（ISS）に物資を届ける予定だ。
「こうのとり」は、日本が開発した無人物資補給機の愛称。ISSへの物資輸送では、6月にイーロン・マスク氏が率いる宇宙企業スペースX社の無人補給機ドラゴンを載せたロケットが打ち上げたものの、2分後に爆発するなど、2014年10月以降、アメリカとロシアで3回失敗し、こうのとりの重要性が増していた。
毎日新聞によると、「こうのとり」5号機には、滞在中の宇宙飛行士のための水や食料のほか、宇宙最大の謎の一つ「暗黒物質」の観測装置「CALET（キャレット）」や、マウスなどの小動物を飼育できる実験装置など計5.5トンの物資が積まれているという。
上空400kmにあるISSでは、油井亀美也さんが「こうのとり」5号機をロボットアームでキャッチする。その際、アメリカ航空宇宙局（NASA）の管制センターでは宇宙飛行士の若田光一さんが油井さんをサポートする予定だ。NHKニュースによると、宇宙輸送船のドッキングを宇宙側も地上側もいずれも日本人が担うのは初めてとなるという。
Spacewalk Photos
Spacewalk Photos(01 of25)
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 32 flight engineer, appears to touch the bright sun during the mission’s third session of extravehicular activity (EVA) on Sept. 5, 2012. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(02 of25)
Astronaut Ed White performed the first American spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission on June 3, 1965. It lasted 23 minutes. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(03 of25)
Ed White during his historic spacewalk. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(04 of25)
Bruce McCandless II ventured farther away from the confines and safety of his ship than any previous astronaut ever has. This space first was made possible by the Manned Manuevering Unit or MMU, a nitrogen jet propelled backpack. After a series of test maneuvers inside and above Challenger\'s payload bay, McCandless went \"free-flying\" to a distance of 320 feet away from the orbiter (1984). (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(05 of25)
Astronaut Bruce McCandless conducts a spacewalk using a jet pack called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) in 1984. He is 320 feet from the orbiter. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(06 of25)
Astronaut Stephen K. Robinson, STS-114 mission specialist, anchored to a foot restraint on the International Space Station’s Canadarm2, participates in the mission’s third session of extravehicular activity (2005). (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(07 of25)
Astronaut Jack Lousma helped install a solar shield on the Skylab space station in 1973. The shield protected part of Skylab from the sun\'s heat. Look closely in Lousma\'s helmet to see a reflection of Earth. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(08 of25)
Astronauts Richard Hieb, Thomas Akers and Pierre Thuot (left to right) pull a satellite into the space shuttle\'s cargo bay for repairs in 1992. The STS-49 mission was the first time three astronauts went on a spacewalk together. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(09 of25)
Astronauts Bernard Harris Jr. (right), and Michael Foale (left) get ready to go on a spacewalk in the airlock of space shuttle Discovery in 1994. Harris was the first African-American to walk in space. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(10 of25)
Astronaut Carl Meade (left) wears the backpack called SAFER, which could be used to move an astronaut back to the spacecraft after becoming untethered. Astronaut Mark Lee stands connected to the space shuttle robotic arm in 1994. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(11 of25)
Astronaut James Newman waves at the camera in 1998. He is holding on to a handrail of the Unity connecting module of the space station. His spacewalk lasted 7 hours and 21 minutes. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(12 of25)
Astronauts prepare for spacewalks in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab. Here, a crew member prepares to work inside of a Hubble telescope mock-up. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(13 of25)
Astronaut Scott Parazynski smiles as he peeks into the Destiny Laboratory window on the ISS in 2001. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(14 of25)
Astronaut John Herrington is suited up and ready to leave the airlock to begin a spacewalk on the ISS in 2002. Herrington was the first Native American to walk in space. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(15 of25)
Astronaut Chris Hadfield \"dangles upside down\" in the shadow of the International Space Station in 2003. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(16 of25)
Astronaut Joseph Tanner\'s Kevlar tether line is pulled tightly as he moves outside the ISS in 2006. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(17 of25)
Astronaut Scott Parazynski moves toward a tear in one of the space station\'s solar array blankets in 2007. He is attached to the end of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System, or OBSS. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(18 of25)
Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria holds the American record for the amount of time spent walking in space. He has performed 10 spacewalks totaling 67 hours and 40 minutes. He was also named the first Hispanic astronaut to perform a spacewalk in 2007. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(19 of25)
Astronaut Peggy Whitson holds the world record for the woman with the most spacewalks, with a total of five. This record was set while Whitson was the commander of Expedition 16 in 2007. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(20 of25)
Expedition 16 flight engineer Daniel Tani smiles while participating in an extravehicular activity outside the ISS in 2008. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(21 of25)
Astronaut Rick Linnehan can be seen through a window on space shuttle Endeavour\'s flight deck in 2008. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(22 of25)
STS-123 mission specialist Rick Linnehan takes a picture during the mission\'s third spacewalk in 2008. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(23 of25)
Astronaut Dave Wolf prepares to enter the airlock on the ISS in 2009. Astronaut Christopher Cassidy\'s feet and backpack are also visible. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(24 of25)
Astronaut John Grunsfeld works on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle mission STS-125 in 2009. During the spacewalks, astronauts replaced parts that were no longer working and added new parts. (credit:NASA)
Spacewalk Photos(25 of25)
Astronaut Christopher Cassidy sports a wide variety of tools for his spacewalk outside the ISS in 2009. (credit:NASA)
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