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Astronauts open hatch between space shuttle and ISS
AFP - Monday, November 17
WASHINGTON (AFP) - - Astronauts aboard the shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station have opened a hatch between their two vessels, and met amid handshakes and hugs 360 kilometers (223 miles) above the South Pacific Ocean.
The hatch sprung open at 7:16 pm (0016 pm Monday), two hours after Endeavour docked at the ISS and almost 48 hours into its 15-day mission to expand the living quarters of the orbiting space station.
"Welcome Endeavour ... we understand that this house is in need of an extreme makeover and that you are the crew to do it. We're really glad to see you ... Welcome to space," ISS commander Mike Fincke told the seven arriving Endeavour astronauts.
The task of the Endeavour, which launched Friday, nearly 10 years to the day since a shuttle crew first began constructing the ISS on November 20, 1998, will also be to repair the station's power-generating solar arrays.
NASA engineers on Earth were reviewing images of the underside of the Endeavour taken before it docked with the ISS that showed a 30 by 45 centimeter (12 by 18 inch) hole in the shuttle's thermal blanket, presumably torn during launch, a spokesman said.
NASA, however, said it was not overly concerned with the hole, since "it is not an area that experiences high heat during reentry."
Four planned spacewalks during the mission will focus on servicing the station's solar wings, as 14.5 tonnes of material and equipment are offloaded from the shuttle to the Italian module Leonardo, allowing for the ISS crew to expand from three to six in 2009.
It will be the most extreme home makeover ever attempted by NASA astronauts. The additions will include two new sleeping quarters, exercise equipment, a second toilet, two new ovens to heat food, a refrigerator for food and drinks, a freezer and an oven for scientific experiments.
Endeavour's crew includes commander Chris Ferguson, 47, co-pilot Eric Boe, 44, and five mission specialists including Sandra Magnus, 44.
She will replace compatriot Greg Chamitoff as ISS Expedition 18 flight engineer. Chamitoff is scheduled to return to Earth on Endeavour in late November while Magnus is to stay on through February 2009.
Endeavour's mission is scheduled to end November 29, though NASA has said the flight could well be extended a day.
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