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Record response to call for new astronauts
HOUSTON, March 13 (UPI) -- The crews of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station completed their first orbits as a joint operational team Thursday.
The crews greeted each other soon after the shuttle docked at the ISS at 11:49 p.m. EDT Wednesday and hatches between the two spacecraft were opened.
Shortly before docking, STS-123 commander Dominic Gorie guided the shuttle through a "back-flip" maneuver, giving the Expedition 16 crew the opportunity to take pictures of the orbiter's protective heat-resistant tiles. The photos were sent to engineers on Earth for analysis to determine if any damage occurred during launch or the journey into orbit.
The STS-123 and Expedition 16 crews opened the hatches between Endeavour and the station at 1:36 a.m. and began preparing for the first of five scheduled spacewalks. National Aeronautics and Space Administration controllers in Houston said that event was scheduled for 9:23 p.m. EDT Thursday.
NASA said the Endeavour's 16-day mission was to include installation of a Canadian-built ISS mobile servicing system and the first component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory.
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