Japan's first unmanned space cargo vehicle safely re-entered the atmosphere 120km above New Zealand yesterday with its load of garbage from the International Space Station.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the H-II Transfer Vehicle, or HTV, apparently disintegrated and burned up on its descent toward the ocean east of New Zealand.
The Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Chile is commonly used as a dumping ground for human waste and other garbage from the space station.
