HTV Unberth and Release

ISS021-E-016804 (30 Oct. 2009) --- Backdropped by Earth’s horizon and the blackness of space, the International Space Station's Canadarm2 grapples the unpiloted Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) in preparation for its release from the station. European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne, Expedition 21 commander; NASA astronaut Nicole Stott and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk, both flight engineers, used the station’s robotic arm to grab the HTV cargo craft, filled with trash and unneeded items, and unberth it from the Harmony node’s nadir port. The HTV was successfully unberthed at 10:18 a.m. (CDT) on Oct. 30, 2009, and released from the station’s Canadarm2 at 12:32 p.m.