Cygnus Departure

ISS038-E-050755 (18 Feb. 2014) --- The Orbital Sciences Corporation's Cygnus spacecraft begins its relative separation from the International Space Station after several weeks at the station. NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, with assistance from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, both Expedition 38 flight engineers, used the station's 57-foot Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach Cygnus from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node at 5:15 a.m. (EST) on Feb. 18, 2014. While Wakata monitored data and kept in contact with the team at Houston's Mission Control Center, Hopkins released Cygnus from the robotic arm at 6:41 a.m. A blue and white part of Earth provides the backdrop for the scene.