It was already nighttime over Romania. More than 360 kilometres above Earth, the International Space Station passed over Eastern Europe.
Bathed in the yellow glow of the station's external floodlights, its Canadian-made robot arm stretched out yesterday toward a spacecraft flying a few metres away.
In a first for Canadian robotics, the ISS crew successfully commanded the station robot arm to snatch an incoming cargo ship, paving the way for future resupply missions.
The operation capped the maiden launch of the H-II Transfer Vehicle, the Japanese space agency's automated cargo spacecraft.
With the space shuttle fleet slated to be retired next year, being able to capture free-flying cargo ships like the HTV will be crucial to restocking the space station.
During yesterday's capture, the arm was operated by NASA astronaut Nicole Stott from a console inside the ISS, with the help of Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk and European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne.
"It's a real example of international co-operation, with a Japanese vehicle captured by a Canadian arm with American and European astronauts and a safety guy from Canada," said Lieutenant-Colonel De Winne, a Belgian test pilot.
Launched a week ago from Japan, HTV is carrying five tonnes of supplies.
After trailing a few kilometres behind the space station, HTV went into a lower orbit and caught up with the orbital complex. Guiding itself with a laser sensor, the Japanese ship soared upward until it was metres below the ISS side facing Earth.
Like all Canadarm2 manipulators, Ms. Stott had been trained at the Canadian Space Agency. She had a window of one minute, 39 seconds within which she could snatch the supply ship.
Under her guidance, like a slow-moving reptilian head, the tip of the arm inched toward the Japanese cargo ship. Just after orbital sunset, she made contact as the ISS flew over western Romania.
"Grapple confirmed. Good capture," NASA ground control said from Houston, complimenting Ms. Stott on "using kid gloves" in her robot operation.
While the manoeuvre looked simple to "the untrained eye ... this particular task was not a small one," Dr. Thirsk's backup, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, said in a statement from CSA headquarters.
Later in the day, it was Dr. Thirsk's turn to take over the console and get Canadarm2 to dock the captured HTV into its permanent berthing position on the space station.
The bus-sized HTV can haul up to six tonnes of supplies and complements automated resupply spaceships from Russia and the European Space Agency. Once it delivers its cargo, HTV is filled with trash and burns on re-entering Earth atmosphere.
Tu Thanh Ha