[sarex] STS-118 Arrives at Space Station

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C#31468

	*STS-118 Arrives at Space Station*



The seven STS-118 crew members reached their destination today when 
Space Shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station at 
2:02 p.m. EDT. STS-118 will continue the on-orbit construction of the 
station with the addition of the Starboard 5 (S5) truss segment.

The astronauts will enter the station for the first time about 3:21 
p.m., following the completion of leak and pressure checks between the 
two spacecraft. The STS-118 crew and the station’s Expedition 15 crew 
will then begin joint operations, including preparations for Saturday’s 
installation of the S5 truss and spacewalk. The two crews will also 
begin cargo transfers between Endeavour and the Station.

At 5:51 p.m. EDT, the crew will activate the Station-to-Shuttle Power 
Transfer System, which is designed to reroute power from the station to 
a visiting shuttle. If the transfer system works as expected, mission 
managers could elect to extend STS-118’s mission from 11 to 14 days and 
increase the number of STS-118 spacewalks from three to four. A decision 
on a possible extension could occur Saturday or Sunday.

Endeavour and the station linked up while flying over the South Pacific.

Animations: + Approach to Station 
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| + Backflip 
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| + Docking 
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Kelly and Mission Specialist Barbara Morgan wrapped up a long day of 
work Thursday with a quick message from orbit. Kelly said he felt 
privileged to be there and that everything was going well. Morgan said 
that she was having a great time and was looking forward to docking 
tomorrow and seeing the Expedition 15 crew.

"When we first came to orbit it took a little getting used to," Morgan 
said. "I felt like I was upside down the whole time." She joked that 
when you put something aside, it floats off and you have no idea where 
it went. "We’ll have to do a treasure hunt later."

+ View Video 
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