http://www.mhi.com/discover/graph/feature/no174.html
In 1984, the United States proposed a project to build, in concert with international partners, a “space base where people can live” for long periods of time. This ambitious proposal – with the aim of furthering scientific and technical knowledge and helping improve life on earth – heralded the outward trek in human space exploration on a grand scale.
An alliance of 15 countries has been cooperating on the International Space Station (ISS), designed to enable experiments in space and scientific observations of our planet and other celestial bodies. Construction of the ISS in orbit got underway in 1998 and was completed in July 2011.
A steady supply of goods is crucial to a prolonged stay in the ISS. Equally vital is the disposal of waste materials. To meet those critical needs, Japan independently developed the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), an unmanned supply spacecraft nicknamed “KOUNOTORI.”