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Endeavour and station crews open hatches

The STS-123 and Expedition 16 crews opened the hatches between space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station at 1:28 a.m. EDT. They are combining forces for 12 days of joint operations.

Image above: The STS-123 crew boards the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV

About an hour before docking, which occurred at 11:49 p.m. Wednesday, STS-123 Commander Dominic Gorie and Pilot Gregory H. Johnson 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. These photos have been transmitted to engineers in Mission Control for analysis.

One of the first joint tasks is for Garrett Reisman KE5HAE to join the Expedition 16 crew by trading places with Flight Engineer Léopold Eyhart FX0STD, a European Space Agency astronaut.

The crews also are preparing for the first of five scheduled spacewalks, which Mission Specialist Rick Linnehan and Reisman will begin at 8:23 p.m. Thursday.

In addition, the STS-123 crew will install the Canadian-built Dextre – the final element of the station’s Mobile Servicing System – and the Japanese Logistics Module - Pressurized Section, which is the first component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory.