Page 1 of 2

APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 5:05 am
by APOD Robot
Image Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship Approaches the Space Station

Explanation: The care package from Earth had arrived. Last week, Japan launched the robotic Kounotori2 spacecraft to bring needed supplies, including food, to the International Space Station (ISS). Kountori2 launched from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center a little over a week ago reached the ISS in low Earth late last week. Pictured above, Kountori2 approached the ISS and was about to be grabbed by astronauts with the Canadarm2 and attached to the Harmony Module. In the above picture as seen through a window on the ISS, the limb of the Earth is visible, including white clouds, blue water, and various tan colored landforms. In addition to launches including humans, as many as ten robotic spacecraft may be launched to the space station this year, potentially including spacecraft from Russia, Europe, Japan, and a private company in the USA.

<< Previous APODDiscuss Any APOD Next APOD >>
[/b]

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 5:23 am
by owlice
Oh, I was not expecting the result that came from clicking on a particular link!! lol!!! That was great!!

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 5:24 am
by bystander
Japans White Stork Kounotori Grappled and Nested at Space Station: Video & Photo Album
Universe Today | 2011 Jan 27
Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 5:51 am
by Sam
The small boot-shaped lake just to the right of Kounotori2 seems to be at
7°35'32.82"N, 38°35'3.62"E
(Abijata Lake, 160km south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)
Sam

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 8:52 am
by strgzrgene
re quiz answer: The images appears to show the NE portion of Africa, possibly near Eritrea perhaps.

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 11:10 am
by RJ
Looks to be Turkey or Iran.

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 11:13 am
by Gimwinkle
Lake Turkana, formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. This lake can be seen near the Canadarm.

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:31 pm
by JohnD
The word-similarity is surely a coincidence, but Kounitori is a Konditori, a bakery, a patisserie, a delicatessen and general food supply shop for the ISS!

John

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:42 pm
by herby
It's Mongolia

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:46 pm
by Star*Hopper
Yes, if I really wanted to....but what's my incentive?

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:56 pm
by herby
No, I am wrong. Gimwinkle is right. The patterns of seas there is more similar to the picture.

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:57 pm
by spufidoo
That's not a supply ship - it's a huge can of Dr. Peppers!

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 1:27 pm
by pianomon4
I think it's somewhere in central Asia.

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 1:37 pm
by sjaak
the first reaction of Sam is correct ! Etheopie betweem Nazret and Shashemene

Look Out for Mr Kounotori!

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 2:56 pm
by neufer
Kounotori 2 (こうのとり2号機 : "White Stork")
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 3:19 pm
by krudler
The lake at the bottom (near the robot arm) seems to be:
Lake Kanba
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=-17. ... 25&t=h&z=9
being viewed from the south west.

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 3:25 pm
by alphachap
owlice wrote:Oh, I was not expecting the result that came from clicking on a particular link!! lol!!! That was great!!
What result? What link?

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 3:37 pm
by bystander
owlice wrote:Oh, I was not expecting the result that came from clicking on a particular link!! lol!!! That was great!!
alphachap wrote:What result? What link?
I can't be sure, but my guess is supplies. :shock: :o :lol:

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 5:01 pm
by Space Geek
Appears to be over New Mexico, USA just south of Albuquerque. The "lake" is likely lava at Valley of Fires State Park.

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 5:34 pm
by mndt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rkIUGdIgf0
This video says it carrying 5.3 tons of supplies. How much toilet paper are they using up there?

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 5:54 pm
by neufer
mndt wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rkIUGdIgf0

This video says it carrying 5.3 tons of supplies. How much toilet paper are they using up there?
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colber ... deo=168719

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 6:19 pm
by wshatner32
Lake Turkana is correct. Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia. Indian Ocean and a few pirates can be seen in the distance.

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 7:38 pm
by GoBears
I say it is Tibet, looking south toward the Himalayan foothills at the edge of the globe. I just don't believe there are that many places on Earth that are so arid over the 30 or so degrees of arc in the photograph.

By the way, didn't they used to call them "unmanned missions"? Now we have to be fancy-schmancy and call them "robots"! :lol:

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 8:12 pm
by neufer
GoBears wrote:
By the way, didn't they used to call them "unmanned missions"? Now we have to be fancy-schmancy and call them "robots"! :lol:
"Unmanned missions" are the really, really interesting missions that perform actual science.

"Manned missions" are extraordinarily expensive "missions" that provide high altitude Super Bowl cheerleaders.

"Robot missions" are the "missions" that that deliver toilet paper to those Super Bowl cheerleaders.

Re: APOD: Japans Kounotori2 Supply Ship the... (2011 Jan 31)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 8:37 pm
by limb
".....the limb [sic] of the Earth is visible......"
Well you learn something new every day.
I didn't know the Earth had limbs! That's neat!
(Could it be that the writer was thinking "rim" of the Earth?)