Shuttle Endeavour Soars Toward Space Station

Nov. 16, 2008 -- Speeding 17,000 miles an hour around Earth, space shuttle Endeavour aimed for a docking with the International Space Station Sunday to drop off a new housemate and deliver equipment which will change the outpost into a two-kitchen, two-bath, five-bedroom home.

"It's the eve of showtime," space station commander Mike Fincke said Saturday night. "Everyone get some rest. We're going to have a great day tomorrow."

As Endeavour closed in on the space station at about 600 miles per orbit for a Sunday afternoon rendezvous, engineers on the ground pored over images from Friday night's launch to determine if any debris hit the shuttle. At least two pieces were spotted, but Mission Control told Endeavour's seven astronauts that there were no obvious signs of damage.

Shuttle officials initially thought the earlier piece may have been a narrow strip of thermal blanket that was yanked off the shuttle during launch, but images from the inspection showed no apparent damage, said flight director Mike Sarafin.

Analysts will continue studying images from the area at the tail of the shuttle, near the orbital-maneuvering engine pod on the left side, before reaching any conclusions.

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"The good news is that it's not an area of concern," said LeRoy Cain, chairman of the mission management team.

Shuttle officials said they wouldn't have enough information about the second debris piece until analysts were done examining the images.

As part of a routine, second-day inspection done on all shuttle missions since the Columbia disaster in 2003, Endeavour's astronauts on Saturday surveyed the spacecraft's heat shield for any damage using an extra-long inspection boom with a camera and sensors on its tip. Debris from Columbia's external tank struck the orbiter, allowing fiery gases to penetrate the spacecraft on its return to Earth. Seven crew members died.