An unmanned Japanese rocket carrying more than five tons of space station hardware, scientific gear and crew supplies vaulted away from its scenic seaside launch stand in southern Japan Friday (U.S. time) and set off on weeklong flight to the International Space Station.

Trailing a plume of fire and a billowing cloud of exhaust, the 186-foot-tall H-2B smoothly climbed skyward through rainy weather and quickly disappeared into a deck of low clouds, arcing out over the Pacific Ocean on a southeasterly trajectory tilted 51.6 degrees to the equator.

Flight controllers said the strap-on boosters burned out and fell away in pairs as planned about two minutes after liftoff, followed four minutes later by the first stage. The second stage then ignited and continued the push to orbit.

There were no apparent problems and 15 minutes after liftoff from launch pad No. 2 at the Tanegashima Space Center, the HTV-3 cargo ship, nicknamed Kounotori, or "white stork," was released into its planned preliminary orbit with a low point, or perigee, of about 124 miles and an apogee, or high point, of around 186 miles.

"The flight of the HTV-3 went true and as expected," said Josh Byerly, NASA's mission control commentator in Houston. "Everything now set up for the arrival of the HTV-3 coming up next week."

If all goes well, the 17.5-ton spacecraft will carry out a series of carefully orchestrated rocket firings to catch up with the space station next Friday, pulling to within about 30 feet and then stationkeeping while astronaut Joseph Acaba, operating the station's robot arm, locks onto a grapple fixture.

Japanese flight engineer Akihiko Hoshide then plans to take over, moving the HTV-3 spacecraft to the Earth-facing port of the station's forward Harmony module where it will be locked into place with a common berthing mechanism. Hatches will be opened the next day.

Developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, as a contribution to the space station program, the HTV is 32 feet long and 14.4 feet wide. It is designed to carry both pressurized and unpressurized cargo, including equipment too big to pass through the space station's hatches.

For it's third flight, the HTV is loaded with 3.9 tons of pressurized cargo, including an aquatic habitat, five small "CubeSats" and a satellite launcher, a catalytic reactor for the station's water processing system and a water pump. Also on board: Japanese food, beverages and crew clothing.

The high-tech aquarium can be used to house small fish for up to 90 days.

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Japan successfully launches its freighter to space station