spacetoday.net: HTV departs space station

HTV departs space station

Posted: Thu, Sep 5, 2013, 6:55 AM ET (1055 GMT)
HTV-4 unberthed from ISS (NASA)

A Japanese cargo spacecraft unberthed from the International Space Station on Wednesday, less than a month after arriving at the station. The station's robotic arm unberthed the HTV-4 spacecraft from the Harmony module at 8:07 am EDT (1207 GMT) Wednesday and released it at 12:20 pm EDT (1620 GMT). The spacecraft, loaded with trash from the station, will reenter the atmosphere on Saturday and burn up. The spacecraft, launched on August 3, arrived at the station on August 9, carrying supplies and equipment for the station's crew. The HTV-s departure frees up a docking port for the first Cygnus cargo spacecraft, developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation. That spacecraft is slated for launch on September 17, arriving at the station later in the month.