Officials said an unmanned cargo ship carrying supplies has successfully docked at the International Space Station. The emergency supplies also carry a unique experiment, which includes whisky being sent by Drinks giant Suntory.

Suntory has sent the samples to test how time in a zero-gravity environment affects its flavor. As per researchers in the company, if the beverage is stored in an environment, where there is very little temperature changes and liquid movement, there the drink gets a mellower flavor.

The cargo was placed in a vessel known as Kounotori that has blasted off from Southern Japan last Wednesday attached to an H-IIB rocket. In late September, the cargo ship will leave the ISS and re-enter earth's atmosphere. The supplies included food, water, clothes and tools that will be required at the ISS.

The supplies also have parts for a water recycling system, which NASA asked its Japanese counterparts to have it as emergency materials after the launch failure of the US Falcon 9 rocket. After minutes of launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the unmanned SpaceX rocket exploded. It was a major setback for the company headed by Elon Musk.

The accident was the third one in less than a year that involved US and Russia supply ships aimed for the International Space Station. The accidents raised concerns for the supply of food and gear for the astronauts living in the orbit.