Taking his time, commander James Wetherbee deftly guided the shuttle Endeavour to a gentle docking with the international space station today as the two spacecraft sailed 245 miles above the Pacific Ocean southeast of Australia.

Following a now-familiar profile, the shuttle moved in from a point directly in front of the lab complex, its tail pointed toward Earth and its open cargo bay facing the station. Moving at a relative velocity of less than a tenth of a foot per second, Endeavour's docking collar engaged its counterpart on the forward end of the U.S. Destiny laboratory module at 4:59 p.m.

"Endeavour arriving," station astronaut Peggy Whitson said, following naval tradition and ringing a ship's bell mounted in the Unity module.

Docking came 33 minutes later than originally planned, the result of a slow and deliberate approach by Wetherbee. But there were no problems of any significance during today's rendezvous and the linkup was virtually flawless. And in a plus for armchair astronauts, the delay moved docking from darkness to daylight and back into live coverage through a NASA communications satellite.

A new camera mounted on the far end of the station's S1 solar array truss segment provided a spectacular new view of the shuttle's final approach, with Endeavour approaching from the left, the Destiny module in the center of the view and the blue-and-cloud-white limb of the Earth in the background.

After hooks and latches pulled the two spacecraft firmly together, and after leak checks to make sure the interface between Endeavour and the station is tight, hatches were opened.

Wetherbee opened a final hatch between Endeavour and the international space station at 6:31 p.m. Waiting on the other side with smiles, hugs and handshakes were Expedition 5 commander Valery Korzun, science officer Whitson and flight engineer Sergei Treschev, launched to the lab complex June 5 and looking forward to a ride home aboard Endeavour Dec. 4.

"Very nice docking, beautiful!" said Korzun, floating in the pressurized mating adapter between Endeavour and the Destiny lab module.

After a bit more small talk, Korzun welcomed Wetherbee and his six crewmates aboard, including the next full-time crew of the international outpost, Expedition 6 commander Kenneth Bowersox, flight engineer and Mir veteran Nikolai Budarin and science officer Donald Pettit.

Sharing the moment via live television from the station, the astronauts and cosmonauts could be seen laughing and congratulating each other as they mingled in the lab module prior to a safety briefing from Korzun.

The major item on the post-docking agenda today is moving emergency equipment from the shuttle to the station that will allow the lab's next crew - Expedition 6 - to move in and take over command.

That equipment consists primarily of Russian Sokol pressure suits and custom seatliners for the station's Soyuz TMA-1 lifeboat. Once that gear is on board - and it should be in place by late this evening - Bowersox and company will officially become the station's sixth on-board crew. From that point on, Korzun and his crewmates will be considered members of Endeavour's crew.

Video coverage for subscribers only:
   VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING QT or RV
   VIDEO: VIEW FROM STATION OF ENDEAVOUR ENGINE FIRING QT or RV
   VIDEO: DOCKING FOOTAGE FROM S1 TRUSS CAMERA QT or RV
   VIDEO: DOCKING AS SEEN FROM REAR OF SHUTTLE BAY QT or RV
   VIDEO: WELCOMING CEREMONY ABOARD THE STATION QT or RV
   VIDEO: ANIMATION OF ENDEAVOUR'S APPROACH TO STATION QT or RV
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