Endeavour docks with space station
Space shuttle Endeavour docked Sunday with the international space station, where the shuttle crew will help install more living space. The shuttle, also carrying mission specialist Sandra Magnus to replace station flight engineer Greg Chamitoff, docked with the station just after 5 p.m. ET about 212 miles above northern India.
Chamitoff, who has been on the space station for nearly six months, greeted his ride home enthusiastically. "You look beautiful," Chamitoff said by radio. "I am smiling from ear to ear." The seven-member shuttle crew and the station crew were expected to greet each other at about 7 p.m. ET after opening their vehicles' hatches.
Before the docking, the shuttle did a nine-minute backflip so station astronauts could take high-resolution pictures of the shuttle's thermal-protection system, NASA said. NASA will look at the photos for damage on Endeavour, which launched Friday.
