As Endeavour flies within a mile of the International Space Station, mission commander Chris Ferguson is preparing to guide the shuttle through a 360-degree back flip expected to last nine minutes. Two American astronauts on board the International Space Station, Mike Fincke and Greg Chamitoff, will take more than 300 digital pictures of the shuttle as it turns end-over-end, capturing images that will be inspected for signs of damage.
You can watch the flip - called the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver - here starting just after 4 p.m. Click on the NASA TV viewer above to launch a viewer.
Today's docking with the International Space Station has been pushed back about seven minutes, to 5:11 p.m., because an engine firing earlier today was delayed slightly. All systems are functioning well, ground controllers say.
The slightly later docking will occur over the Bay of Bengal near Malaysia, rather than over Calcutta. The station's solar arrays have been feathered to avoid contamination from the shuttle's thruster jets.
IMAGE NOTE: Click on the image above to enlarge it. Endeavour is shown within a few thousand feet of the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA TV.
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