spacetoday.net: HTV docks with ISS

HTV docks with ISS

Posted: Fri, Sep 18, 2009, 8:42 PM ET (0042 GMT)
HTV docked to ISS (NASA)

A Japanese cargo spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, and astronauts there grappled and docked the spacecraft. The H-2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV), launched on September 10, arrived in the vicinity of the station on Thursday afternoon. Rather than docking directly, the spacecraft was grabbed by the station's robotic arm at 3:47 pm EDT (1947 GMT). The arm then moved the spacecraft to the nadir docking port on the Harmony module and berthed the spacecraft there about three hours later. It's the first time a spacecraft visiting the station has been docked in this manner; previous spacecraft have maneuvered and docked themselves.