International Space Station: H-II Transfer Vehicle Arrives

ISS020-E-041290 (17 Sept. 2009) --- Backdropped by Earth's horizon and the blackness of space, the unpiloted Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) approaches the International Space Station. Once the HTV was in range, NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk and European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne, all Expedition 20 flight engineers, used the station's robotic arm to grab the cargo craft and attach it to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node. The attachment was completed at 5:26 (CDT) on Sept. 17, 2009. The end effector of the Canadarm2 is visible at bottom right.



ISS020-E-041386 (17 Sept. 2009) --- Backdropped by a cloud-covered part of Earth, the unpiloted Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) approaches the International Space Station. Once the HTV was in range, NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk and European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne, all Expedition 20 flight engineers, used the station's robotic arm to grab the cargo craft and attach it to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node. The attachment was completed at 5:26 p.m. (CDT) on Sept. 17, 2009.



ISS020-E-041306 (17 Sept. 2009) --- Backdropped by the blackness of space, the International Space Station's Canadarm2 grapples the unpiloted Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) as it approaches the station. NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk and European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne, all Expedition 20 flight engineers, used the station's robotic arm to grab the cargo craft and attach it to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node. The attachment was completed at 5:26 (CDT) on Sept. 17, 2009.



ISS020-E-041394 (18 Sept. 2009) --- Expedition 20 crew members enter the newly attached Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) docked to the Harmony node of the International Space Station. The HTV attachment was completed at 5:26 p.m. on Sept. 17, 2009.