Live: Shuttle Prepares for ISS Docking

Endeavour astronauts are moving the shuttle into position for today's planned docking with the International Space Station just after 5 p.m.

A succssful docking would complete a two-day chase that started with the shuttle's launch Friday night from Kennedy Space Center.

The seven-member crew was awakened today at 9:25 a.m. by the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up." The tune was selected for astronaut Sandra Magnus, who by the end of the day will transfer to the station's Expedition 18 crew.

She'll swap places with Greg Chamitoff, who will return home on Endeavour after a six-month stay in space.

"I want to thank my family for that music and I'm looking forward to moving into my new home today," she told controllers in Houston.

The shuttle's rendezvous operations with the station officially began at about 11:30 a.m., and include a series of thruster burns, one just after noon to adjust the orbiter's approach speed by about 85 mph.

Here are some highlights of the day in space:

2:05 p.m. Station put in proper attitude for docking relative to Earth.
2:26 p.m. Final burn for final portion of rendezvous.
3:20 p.m. Station solar arrays feathered to avoid contamination by shuttle thruster jets.
3:25 p.m. Shuttle expected be within 10,000 feet of the station.
3:39 p.m. Shuttle expected to be within 3,000 feet of the station.
3:43 p.m. Final mid-course correction, called the NC-4 burn.
4:06 p.m. Endeavour performs a back flip 600 feet below the station, allowing 400mm and 800mm cameras on the station to photograph its heat protection systems. Ground analysts will review the imagery for damage that could have occurred during launch, to make sure Endeavour can safely re-enter Earth's atmosphere.
5:04 p.m. Docking with station's Harmony module.
6:55 p.m. Hatch opening and welcoming ceremony.
7:30 p.m. Swap of specially designed seat liners. Magnus' liner will move into the Soyuz spacecraft docked with the station, while Chamitoff's will move to Endeavour for his return home.

You can watch the back flip, docking and welcoming ceremony live here at The Flame Trench. Just click on the NASA TV image on the right side of the page to launch a viewer.

Endeavour commander Chris Ferguson is still unsure if the shuttle's Ku-band antenna will provide radar data for his approach to the station. Mission controllers reported Saturdy that the antenna wasn't working properly, possibly because of a recent softward update.

If it the radar capability is not available with the shuttle about 150,000 feet from the station, flight controllers will switch to a star tracking system, making use of a tracking light on the space station.

Data showing how fast the shuttle is closing in on the station and their relative distance from each other should be functioning normally.

"We really won't know what we're into until we get some radar data at 150,000 (feet)," Ferguson confirmed with mission controllers in Houston.

Click here to read a revised schedule of activities sent to the crew today.

Click here to see an updated schedule of mission events televised on NASA TV.

Endeavour is on a 15-day mission to outfit the station for six-person crews, and to repair a damaged joint that rotates the station's starboard solar wings.

IMAGE NOTE: Click the image to enlarge it. A view from the International Space Station at about 11:30 a.m., as it flew 212 statute miles above Earth.