"Dry oh!" – The STS-118 crew prepares to dock

The crew is making preparations for docking which should take place in less than half an hour

Pictured: STS-118 Mission Specialist Barbara Morgan and Commander Scott Kelly.

The STS-118 crew conducts rendezvous operations as part of preparations for docking with the International Space Station, scheduled for 1:53 p.m. North American Time (EDT).

About an hour before docking, Commander Scott Kelly and Pilot Charles Hoboff will maneuver the shuttle into a reverse in order to allow Expedition 15, at the space station, to collect digital images of the shuttle's heat tiles. The images will be forwarded to those responsible for mission control and will undergo careful analysis.

The Endeavor carries with it a new part of the Integrated Truss Structure. On Saturday, they will tie the support 'Yimin 5' (Starboard 5), or S5 for short, to the structure when it will be attached to support 4 at the end. The installation and operation of S5 will prepare the ground for the installation of the "right 6" part with its solar array. Equally important, STS-118 will also transport equipment and instruments to the space station.

The mission team will set foot on the space station for the first time at 3:21 a.m., about an hour and a half after docking. After that, the shuttle and the space station will undergo several tests aimed at testing pressure and fluidity.

Some animations illustrating the different stages: Access to the space station; The reverse; the docking.

Yesterday, at the end of a busy and arduous day, Kelly and mission specialist Barbara Morgan found time to send a short message from orbit: Kelly said he felt that he had been given a special privilege to be there, and that everything was going well. Morgan said she is having a great time and is looking forward to tomorrow, docking and meeting the Expedition 15 team.

"When we got on the track for the first time, it took me a little while to get used to it," Morgan said. "I had the constant feeling that I was standing on my head." She jokingly tells that when you put something aside, it "floats somewhere else, and you have no idea where it went. "Had to go 'hunting for the treasure' later."

Previous articles that appeared in the seriesThe Adventures of a Ferry
The space shuttle Endeavor was launched
A portable wireless scanner will check the condition of the heat protection tiles in the shuttle