Space station puts out welcome mat

MOSCOW, June 10 (UPI) -- The International Space Station will see a lot of traffic, culminating with the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis on the shuttle's last mission, officials said.

American astronaut Mike Fossum, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa moored a Soyuz spacecraft at the outpost Thursday to mark the end of a two-day journey from Kazakhstan, Florida Today reported Friday.

The trio was greeted by American Ron Garan and Russians Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyaev aboard the ISS, the newspaper said. Space officials and family members also called with well-wishes.

"This is one heck of a ride, buddy," Fossum told one of his four children.

Fossum and Garan, who flew a shuttle mission together in 2008, will team up for a spacewalk during Atlantis' visit, space officials said. Before then, Europe's unmanned ATV-2 cargo ship will depart for the ISS June 20, followed by a Russian Progress freighter.

NASA scheduled a July 8 launch of Atlantis and its four-person crew from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is expected to dock at the space station two days later.