Japan's new HTV-X cargo spacecraft departed the International Space Station today (March 6) after a four-month stay.
The vehicle — known as HTV-X1, because it's the first of its kind — was released by the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm today at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT), right on schedule.
"The HTV-X1 spacecraft will remain in orbit for more than three months acting as a scientific platform for JAXA's experiments," NASA officials said in an update on Monday (March 2), referring to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
