Heat Shield Inspection, Docking Preparations Slated For Thursday

With the exhilaration of launch still fresh on the minds of the astronauts onboard Endeavour, on Thursday the crew got down to business... inspecting the orbiter's heat shield, and readying the shuttle for Friday's scheduled rendezvous with the International Space Station.

NASA tells ANN pilot Charles Hobaugh, and mission specialists Tracy Caldwell and Rick Mastracchio are using the shuttle’s robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) to take an extensive and detailed look at the orbiter’s thermal protection system. Mission specialists Dave Williams and Barbara Morgan will join Mastracchio for the latter part of the survey.

The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour was awakened for its first full day in orbit at 0837 EDT by the song "Where My Heart Will Take Me," performed by Russell Watson. The song -- Trekkers will recognize it as the theme to "Star Trek: Enterprise" -- was played for Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio.

In preparation for Endeavour’s rendezvous and docking with the space station, crew members will also install a centerline camera, to assist Commander Scott Kelly in piloting the orbiter during its approach to the station docking port. Crew members also will check out rendezvous tools and extend the Orbiter Docking System ring.

Endeavour is scheduled to dock at 1353 EDT Friday.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/shuttle