Shuttle Docks With Space Station

Space shuttle Endeavour pulled up to the international space station and docked Saturday, setting the stage for the attachment--and dramatic spreading--of the world’s largest solar wings.

The wings, carried into orbit by Endeavour, will be installed on space station Alpha today with the help of two spacewalking astronauts.

Endeavour hooked up with Alpha as the spacecraft zoomed more than 230 miles above central Asia, ending a two-day chase. Shuttle commander Brent Jett Jr. steered his ship in from below with practiced precision.

Station commander Bill Shepherd and his two Russian crew mates, on board for a month, eagerly watched Endeavour’s slow, cautious approach. The five shuttle astronauts are their first visitors.

“Hey, well done today,” Shepherd called over the radio.

“It’s great to be here,” Jett replied.

Shuttle Pulls Into Port

The two crews, who will be unable to meet for almost another week, had to settle for brief radio conversations. Because of the difference in air pressure between the two craft, the hatches leading into Alpha’s living compartment must remain sealed until the shuttle astronauts complete three spacewalks outside the space station.

Less than an hour after the afternoon linkup, Mission Control radioed up the news that Navy had beaten Army in college football, 30-28.

“All right!” said Jett, a Navy commander. “This has turned out to be a pretty good day.” Shepherd is also a Navy officer.

Endeavour pulled into a docking port that was added by the last shuttle crew in October. The shuttle-station complex exceeded 200 tons and stretched nearly 220 feet.

The space station will be considerably wider once the new electricity-producing solar wings are installed and unfurled, one by one.

Powerful Panels Ready

The $600-million wings were folded like an accordion for launch; the stack was just a few inches thick. Opened, the wings will span 240 feet from tip to tip, longer than the wingspan of a Boeing 777 jetliner. They will be 38 feet across.

Altogether, the solar wings will cover half an acre, making them the largest structure ever deployed in space.

They also will be the most powerful solar wings ever flown. The panels, which collect sunlight for electricity, will be capable of generating 65 kilowatts at peak power. One-third of that power will go for space station use; the rest will be reserved for the batteries and other electronics associated with the panels.

Alpha, at present, is generating only a modest amount of power with two sets of small, Russian-built solar wings. There’s so little electricity that only two of the station’s three rooms can be heated; the unheated chamber has been off limits to the crew.

The new solar panels will allow NASA to launch its power-hungry lab module, Destiny, in January. They will provide enough electricity, in fact, to keep the space station going--and growing--for the next few years.