Endeavour Docks; Expedition 20 Set to Welcome Visitors

Image Above: Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka uses a computer in the Zvezda service module of the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

Space shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station at 1:47 p.m. EDT. Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineers Michael Barratt, Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Roman Romanenko, Robert Thirsk of the Canadian Space Agency and Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency will welcome the STS-127 crew aboard the station after the hatches between the vehicles swing open around 3:43 p.m.

One of the first major tasks is the station crew rotation. STS-127 Mission Specialist Tim Kopra will switch places with Wakata.

The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. The astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.

STS-127 is the 128th shuttle mission to visit the station.