Endeavour docks with the space station

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.