JAXA launches next-generation HTV-X cargo vehicle to the International Space Station

Summary Points

• JAXA launched its new HTV-X cargo vehicle 26 October from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.
• Experiments will test materials, films, and systems on the MISSE external platform to study durability in space.
• Space Tango’s Mambo-2 automated research facility will support multiple experiments with upgraded power and data capacity.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has launched its first HTV-X cargo vehicle to the International Space Station (ISS), introducing a next-generation resupply spacecraft designed to expand international research access to low Earth orbit.

The uncrewed spacecraft lifted off 26 October from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. Following a successful flight and docking sequence, HTV-X berthed with the ISS, marking a key milestone in global space logistics and research collaboration.

HTV-X succeeds JAXA’s H-II Transfer Vehicle, or "Kounotori," and will deliver critical cargo and scientific payloads on multiple missions over the coming years. The new vehicle provides an additional pathway for researchers supported by the ISS National Laboratory to send experiments and materials to the orbiting platform.

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"This launch represents more than a new spacecraft; it’s a new avenue for ISS National Lab-sponsored projects to access the space station," said Robbie Hampton, director of payload operations for the ISS National Laboratory. "HTV-X expands our ability to send high-impact research to low Earth orbit, accelerating progress in fields that matter most to humanity."

Technology and science payloads

On its inaugural mission, HTV-X carries more than 20 ISS National Lab-sponsored payloads, including projects designed to test advanced materials and components in the harsh external environment of space.

More than 15 of these investigations will use the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) Flight Facility, owned and operated by Aegis Aerospace, an ISS National Lab commercial service provider in Webster, Texas. The external platform exposes payloads to atomic oxygen, ultraviolet radiation, temperature extremes, and micrometeoroid impacts to evaluate durability and performance.

3M, based in St. Paul, Minn., will assess the resilience of advanced film technologies with specialized electrical, optical, and environmental properties for use in spacecraft and satellite systems.

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Researchers at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana will evaluate lightweight, high-strength polymer composites for potential use in inflatable station modules, spacesuits, and deorbiting parachutes.

BULL, a Tochigi, Japan-based startup focused on in-space services, will test materials for its Post Mission Disposal (PMD) devices. These systems are designed to help spacecraft autonomously deorbit after mission completion and reduce orbital debris.

Another key payload aboard HTV-X is Space Tango’s Mambo-2, an upgraded automated research platform that enables multiple investigations to operate simultaneously with minimal astronaut involvement. Compared with earlier systems, Mambo-2 provides a larger workspace, higher power capacity, enhanced thermal control, and expanded data throughput. It supports both standard and fully customized payloads.