Space shuttle "Endeavour" to dock ISS on Tuesday early morning

The space shuttle "Endeavour", which was launched yesterday from the American spaceport and which carries the 6th regular Russo-American crew to the International Space Station /ISS/, will dock to the station on Tuesday 00:26A.M. /Moscow time/. The docking procedure will be conducted by Commander of American shuttle Jim Wetherbee.

This was disclosed on Monday by the Russian TSUP /Mission Control Centre/ Coordinator of Public Relations with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration /NASA/ Sergey Puzanov.

According to him, the flight of the shuttle is normal. There are 7 cosmonauts on board of the shuttle, including the members of the 6th regular expedition, headed by US cosmonaut Ken Bowersox. There are also Russian cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin and US cosmonaut Don Pettit in the 6th expedition.

According to the plans, the 6th expedition, after having replaced the 5th expedition, will be on duty of the ISS until March, 2003.

Within a week, two American astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria and John Herrington with several walks in the outer space will install a 15 metre aluminium girder for the subsequent installation of solar batteries.

The shuttle will leave the ISS on next Monday, December 2d, at 10:18 P.M. /Moscow time/. On December 4th the shuttle will land at the US spaceport on the Canaveral Cape /Florida/The shuttle will deliver to the Earth the 5th Russo-American expedition, which consisted of Russian Commander Valery Korzun, Russian Engineer Sergey Treschyov and US research-astronaut Peggy Whitson.