Kounotori 7 (こうのとり7号機), also known as HTV-7, was the seventh flight of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), an uncrewed cargo spacecraft launched on 22 September 2018 to resupply the International Space Station.

[4] After departing from the station, ground control remotely commanded Kounotori to release the capsule at an altitude of 300 kilometres (190 mi).

[10] Some samples produced in the microgravity environment of the ISS deteriorate easily, thus a quick return to the surface is desired.

[8][10] On 22 October 2015, a high-altitude drop test of the capsule was successfully conducted off the coast of Taiki, Hokkaido.

[16] Initially Kounotori 7 was scheduled to launch at 22:32 UTC on 10 September 2018,[17] but was postponed due to bad weather forecast at a ground tracking station.

[29] After a series of trajectory control manoeuvres, the final deorbit burn completed at 21:14 UTC, on 10 November 2018.

The retrieved specimen was transported by aircraft to Ibaraki Airport, and finally arrived at Tsukuba Space Center on 13 November 2018, at 00:42 UTC.