Endeavour reaches space station

The US space shuttle Endeavour yesterday completed a two-day trek to intercept the International Space Station and docked with the orbital outpost to deliver its next-to-last support beam and more than two tons of gear.

Shuttle commander Scott Kelly gently pulsed his spaceship's steering jets to align a docking ring in Endeavour's open cargo bay with a matching latch mounted on the front of the station's Destiny laboratory module.

The rings clasped shut at 2:02 p.m. EDT (1802 GMT) as the two spacecraft sailed 344 km above the South Pacific.

"Welcome on board," said station commander Fyodor Yurchikhin as a ship's bell on the station was rung to signal the shuttle's arrival, copying a naval tradition.

Only two of Endeavour's seven Nasa astronauts have ever been to the outpost. Flight engineer Rick Mastracchio's mission took place before resident crews, made up principally of US astronauts and Russian cosmonauts, began living there in November 2000. Shuttle pilot Charles Hobaugh visited in 2001.

"We're waiting for you," station flight engineer Clay Anderson radioed Commander Kelly as the shuttle made its final approach.

An hour before docking, Commander Kelly stopped 122 metres shy of the outpost and slowly back-flipped Endeavour so station cosmonauts Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov could snap pictures of the shuttle's wings and belly.

Engineers on the ground planned to scrutinize the images to determine if Endeavour's heat shield is in good shape for landing.

The survey, one of at least three scheduled during Endeavour's 11- to 14-day mission, was implemented after the 2003 Columbia accident, the cause of which was traced to a heat shield breach caused when a piece of insulating foam fell off the shuttle's fuel tank and hit the ship's wing during launch.

The shuttle broke apart 16 days later as it flew through the atmosphere for landing, killing all seven crew members.

Nasa redesigned the tanks to reduce the amount of foam that flies off during launch and installed cameras and other sensors to check how the equipment operates.

Initial analysis showed Endeavour's tank shed several small pieces of foam during its climb to orbit but none were expected to be a concern for Endeavour's mission, managers said.

The station crew's pictures will be added to a growing pool of ground- and shuttle-based data so engineers can make a final assessment on the shuttle's condition.

Endeavour's trip to the space station is its first in nearly five years, during which time the ship underwent a major overhaul and equipment upgrade.

The upgrades included a power adapter that should let the shuttle tap into the station's electrical grid and extend its stay from a week to 10 days.

Once aboard the space station, the shuttle crew, which includes former teacher Barbara Morgan, will begin preparing for the mission's first spacewalk today when the new piece of the station's truss will be locked into place.

Nasa needs to fly 11 more construction missions to finish building the station in 2010 when the shuttles are set to retire.

The US space agency also plans two re-supply flights to the station and a final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.