Japan’s uncrewed HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft is scheduled to depart the International Space Station (ISS) on 6 March, concluding its first resupply mission to the orbiting laboratory.
The spacecraft delivered approximately 12,000 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, hardware and other cargo for NASA and its international partners following its arrival at the station on 29 October 2025. HTV-X1 launched four days earlier, on 25 October, aboard Japan’s H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center.
Flight controllers are using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach HTV-X1 from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module and manoeuvre it into position for release. NASA astronaut Chris Williams is monitoring the spacecraft’s systems during undocking and departure operations.
After separating from the ISS, HTV-X1 will remain in orbit for more than three months, operating as a scientific platform to support experiments led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The extended free-flight phase represents an added capability of the next-generation HTV-X vehicle compared with earlier Japanese cargo spacecraft.
At the end of its mission, controllers will issue a deorbit command, directing the spacecraft back into Earth’s atmosphere. During re-entry, it will dispose of several thousand pounds of station waste, burning up harmlessly.
HTV-X1 is the first flight of JAXA’s upgraded HTV-X cargo vehicle, designed to provide increased payload capacity and greater operational flexibility to support ongoing International Space Station logistics and research operations.
Image: The new HTV‑X1 cargo spacecraft from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), carrying science, supplies, and hardware for NASA and its international partners, is pictured on Oct. 29, 2025, after its capture by the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm.
Credit: NASA
