Nasa space shuttle docks with ISS

Nasa space shuttle docks with ISS



The shuttle will be united with the ISS for up to two weeks


Space shuttle Endeavour has docked with the International Space Station, after performing a backflip so that its underside could be photographed.

The slow-motion somersault meant digital images of the shuttle's heatshield could be captured.

Nasa engineers need to check whether foam insulation that broke off during Wednesday's launch damaged the ship.

Nine pieces of foam are thought to have broken away - three of which appear to have struck the shuttle.

John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team, said none of the pieces was believed to have been big enough to cause serious damage.

Careful inspections

On Thursday, Endeavour's crew conducted an inspection of the shuttle, using a robot arm and extension boom, tipped with a laser and camera, to hunt for any damage to the wings and nose cap.

Foam damage has been a major concern for Nasa since the Columbia disaster in 2003 when a briefcase-sized chunk of foam insulation broke off during launch and pierced the shuttle's heat-protection tiles. This caused the shuttle to disintegrate on re-entry into the atmosphere, killing all seven crew.



Endeavour launches from Cape Canaveral
Endeavour blasted off on Wednesday

Shuttle launch

As Endeavour prepared to dock with the ISS on Friday, the crew guided it into a backflip manoeuvre once it was about 200m (600ft) away from the station, so it could be photographed and checked for damage.

Afterwards, the shuttle re-approached the space station and made its final connection at about 1900 BST (1400 EDT).

The mission is scheduled to last for 11 or possibly up to 14 days thanks to a new piece of equipment that can tap into the power grid of the ISS to extend its mission.

'Teacher in space'

On board is former primary school teacher Barbara Morgan, once the reserve behind Christa McAuliffe, who died along with six other astronauts in the 1986 Challenger shuttle tragedy.

After the incident, Nasa asked Ms Morgan to stay on as its Teacher in Space representative and pledged a shuttle flight to fulfil McAuliffe's educational agenda.

But when the agency subsequently banned civilians from flying in its spacecraft Ms Morgan had to become a fully trained astronaut to get her chance to enter space. On Thursday Ms Morgan said: "Hey, it's great being up here.

Ms Morgan
Barbara Morgan said she was enjoying the mission so far

"We've been working really hard, but it's a really good, fun kind of work."

Ms Morgan and crew will be delivering a 1.58 tonne "truss" section to extend the space station to a length of 108m (354ft).

The astronauts will also replace a defective gyroscope, one of four keeping the ISS on an even keel, and will install a 3.3-tonne exterior stowage platform.

Endeavour is also carrying in its cargo bay a pressurised container with 2.7 tonnes of supplies, foodstuffs and equipment.

Three spacewalks, lasting about six hours and 30 minutes each, will allow the two-astronaut teams to accomplish the assembly and repair tasks.

Should Nasa choose to extend the mission, astronauts could fit in a fourth spacewalk, to prepare for installation of a boom that will allow crews to inspect for damage to the heat shields of future shuttles while docked with the space station.

The mission is the second of four that Nasa plans this year to finish the $100bn (£49.1bn) space station before the shuttle fleet retires in 2010.