The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour docks with the International Space Station at 2:02 p.m. EDT (1802 GMT) on Friday, ending a nearly-two-day chase, according to NASA TV.
The smooth linkup of the two vehicles while flying over the South Pacific brings the two astronaut crews together more than 200 miles above the Earth.
Endeavour's seven-member STS-118 crew and the station's three- member Expedition 15 crew are now checking the connection for a leak check expected to last about 90 minutes. And then Endeavour crew will enter the orbital outpost at about 3:21 p.m. EDT.
Endeavour is delivering a new segment, supplies and equipment to the space station. The crew will continue the on-orbit construction of the station with the addition of new piece.
About an hour before docking, Endeavour's Commander Scott Kelly and Pilot Charlie Hobaugh guided the shuttle through a backflip maneuver to allow the station astronauts to collect digital images of its heat shield. The images will be downlinked to NASA mission control center for analysis.
Nine pieces of foam insulation broke off Endeavour's fuel tank during liftoff Wednesday evening, and three pieces appeared to strike the shuttle, according to NASA.
Although none is believed to "have been big enough to cause critical damage," NASA is very cautious to give the shuttle extensive inspections during the first day in space and before docking.
Foam damage has been of particular interest to NASA since a chunk pierced shuttle Columbia's left wing, leading to its catastrophic re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003.
Source: Xinhua
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