5 Mar 2026

NASA’s live coverage of the departure of JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s) uncrewed HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station is underway on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel.  

Release from the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm is scheduled for 12 p.m. EST. Coverage will conclude after the spacecraft departs the vicinity of the space station. 

Flight controllers on the ground sent commands on Thursday, March 5, for the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach HTV-X1 from the Harmony module’s Earth-facing port and maneuver the spacecraft into position for release. NASA astronaut Chris Williams will monitor the spacecraft’s systems during its departure. 

The HTV-X1 spacecraft will remain in orbit for more than three months acting as a scientific platform for JAXA’s experiments. Following the command for deorbit, the spacecraft will dispose of several thousand pounds of trash during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, where it will burn up harmlessly. 

The spacecraft arrived at the station Oct. 29, 2025, after launching Oct. 25 atop an H3 rocket from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center.

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The HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) is pictured in the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic arm after arriving at the International Space Station on Oct. 29, 2025.