Japan launches Kounotori 7 cargo spaceship to space station

TOKYO - Japan successfully launched early Sunday a rocket carrying the unmanned cargo spaceship Kounotori 7 to deliver supplies for astronauts living in the International Space Station (ISS).

The H-2B rocket carrying the spaceship lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, at 2:52 am local time (1752 GMT Saturday).

The spaceship, seventh of its kind, carries batteries, food and scientific experiment supplies, as well as a small re-entry capsule for the first time for bringing back experiment samples from the space station.

The launch, originally scheduled for Sept 11, was postponed several times due to bad weather and equipment problems.

Developed and built in Japan, the Kounotori spacecraft, also known as H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), has been used to deliver supplies to the space station.

The first mission of the HTV, or Kounotori 1, was launched in 2009.