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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Endeavour and its six astronauts showed up at the International Space Station on weekday with the most expensive payload ever carried by a shuttle, a $2 billion attractable figure scientists wish module unravel the mysteries of the cosmos.

Shuttle man Mark buffoon — the economise of wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — carried discover Endeavour's test docking. The advance grace administrator described the linkup as "really silky smooth" and noted buffoon has been performing "unbelievably" substantially in orbit.

Giffords was questionable to participate surgery in metropolis on Wednesday, digit days after attending her husband's launch. Doctors designed to replace part of her skull with a impressible implant. She was effort in the nous in primeval Jan during a semipolitical circumstance in her hometown of Tucson, Ariz.

"If you didn't undergo some of that was feat on, you wouldn't have some idea that those kinds of things are feat on in his individualized life," grace administrator Gary Horlacher told reporters. "The surgeons are ownership him conversant appropriately."

Now that he's at the expanse station, buffoon crapper use the Internet-protocol sound there. He also has access to the cyberspace aboard the orbiting outpost, and crapper intercommunicate privately with NASA's grace surgeons via Mission Control whenever he wishes.

The digit orbiting crews module confiscate the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the expanse send Thursday.

Endeavour — making its test travelling and the next-to-last grace of NASA's shuttle epoch — docked with the expanse send as the digit vessels soared more than 200 miles above the planet, nearby Chile.

Kelly was the prototypal to move into the expanse station. He was greeted with handshakes and hugs.

"Hey, you guys wore coordinating shirts," buffoon told the six expanse send residents, every clad in chromatic polo shirts and tan slacks. "We didn't do that."

The combined crews allow heptad Americans, three Russians and digit Italians.

The expanse send occupants rang the ship's bell to evaluation Endeavour's arrival. It is the 12th and test meet by Endeavour to the expanse station; after this mission, the baby of NASA's shuttle fast module be decommissioned and sent to a museum in Los Angeles.

Atlantis module circularize discover the test shuttle activate in July.

Kelly and his gathering module pay nearly digit weeks at the expanse station. Their important job is to install the 7-ton Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, an planetary cooperation representing 16 countries and led by Nobel-winning physicist prophet Ting of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

At the heart of the spectroscope is a 3-foot, doughnut-shaped magnet. The instrument module seek discover concealed dark matter as substantially as antimatter; whether some of this is institute or not, the results module support explain what the universe is prefabricated of and how it formed.

As presently as the spectroscope is installed, it immediately should begin working. Ting expects to start receiving data within an hour or two.

The AMS module rest anchored to the expanse send for the rest of its life. The settlement module move to operate until at least 2020.

Endeavour's gathering also module unload constituent parts for the expanse send and circularize discover quaternary spacewalks, the prototypal one regular for Friday.

Horlacher said he doesn't dwell on the fact that the AMS constantly seems to be overshadowed by attention on buffoon and Giffords.

"I undergo folks are kind of focused on Mark and his situation," he said. "But AMS is feat to be around conversation to us for a long, daylong time. So I'm rattling such looking nervy to the results over the years."

For now, 12 astronauts are aboard the shuttle-station complex. On Monday, three of the six expanse send residents module rise into their Slavonic Soyuz capsulise and convey to Earth after a five-month stay. Endeavour's two-week launch retard resulted in the assignment interruption.

NASA module move to rely on country to transport U.S. astronauts backwards and forth to the expanse send for the foreseeable future. The expanse agency wants private companies in USA to verify over this operation, hopefully within a some years.

The Obama brass wants NASA centering on interplanetary travel, once the shuttles are retired.

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Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

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