CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An American skipper took the helm of the International Space Station Monday as 10 astronauts and cosmonauts started hauling tons of luggage and research gear into the orbital complex for a newly arrived relief crew.
A day after shuttle Discovery docked at the station, three custom-made seat liners were installed inside the outpost's emergency lifeboat for incoming commander Frank Culbertson and his two Russian crewmates: Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Turin.
Partial-pressure flight suits that would be worn if the new tenants had to abandon ship also were tested, marking an official change-of-command as well as the beginning of a four-month tour of duty for the so-called Expedition Three crew.
"Everyone recognizes that is the point where the Expedition Three crew becomes the International Space Station crew," said NASA flight director Mark Ferring.
Outgoing station commander Yuri Usachev and his two flight engineers -- Susan Helms and Jim Voss -- now are considered part of shuttle Discovery's crew and will return to Earth aboard the winged spaceship after 167 days in orbit.
The changing of the guard came about 3:15 p.m. EDT (1915 GMT) after the seat-liners and flight suits were set up in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that doubles as a crew transport vehicle and the station's lifeboat.
Built to accommodate crews of three, bug-shaped Soyuz craft make parachute landings on the rugged steppes of central Asia. The custom-made seat-liners - which are similar in purpose to the form-fitted couches flown in NASA's Mercury and Gemini spacecraft -- are designed to withstand landing forces."The acceleration force at the point of impact could be quite severe, and these seats are designed to be able to absorb that impact without permanent damage to any of the crewmen," Ferring said.
"They have to be formed exactly correctly in order to be able to take these loads and distribute them in the body equally so that you don't have any severe damage (in the event) of a problem during descent."
The Soyuz at the station, consequently, now is specifically outfitted to serve as a lifeboat for Culbertson and his crewmates. That's why NASA and its international partners mark a change of command with the seat-liner set-up.
"As soon as the seat liners are transferred, the emergency vehicle can no longer be used for anyone but the persons who the seat-liners work for," Ferring said. "So technically, it happens at that point."
A more formal change-of-command ceremony will be staged at the outpost at the end of Discovery's planned eight-day stay at the station.
The crew swap came amid a busy day aimed at moving the new crew into the 17-story station.
Working inside an Italian-made moving van, the astronauts and cosmonauts began a weeklong effort to unpack more than three tons of food, clothing and supplies that the new station crew will need during their stay at the station.
Mounted to the bottom of the station's Unity module with the shuttle's robot arm earlier Monday, the shipping container features a large hatch designed to accommodate cargo too bulky to be passed through narrow shuttle docking tunnels.
Live television beamed back from the station showed the joined crews toting luggage and packages out of the cylindrical cargo carrier and into the outpost.
"Everything looks very, very clean inside. The lights are on and all of us are getting ready to begin transfer operations," Culbertson told ground controllers.
"That's great," NASA astronaut Joan Higginbotham replied from NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston. "We'll be standing by."
Among the gear to be unloaded this week: Two refrigerator-sized science racks; a ton of research equipment; a half-ton of food; and a half-ton of clothing and other crew supplies, including a temporary sleep station that will be installed within the Destiny lab.
The station's Russian-built crew module is outfitted with two closet-sized "staterooms" that Culbertson and Turin plan to use. Dezhurov will room in a makeshift bedding area that Helms arranged within the lab until the new unit is set up next month.
A hollow lab rack, the new replacement sleep station is outfitted with a ventilation system, radiation protection, lights and electrical outlets for laptop computers or CD and DVD players.
Coming up later this week: The reloading of the shuttle-borne moving van.
About 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) of Expedition Two crew luggage, surplus station equipment and garbage will be packed into the shipping container before it is put back in the shuttle's cargo bay Sunday.
Also on tap: Two five-hour spacewalks.
Shuttle mission specialists Patrick Forrester and Daniel Barry will mount a pallet of ammonia coolant tanks outside the station during the first excursion Thursday. A second sortie Saturday primarily will involve stringing power cables outside the Destiny lab.
With Usachev, Helms and Voss on board, Discovery is scheduled to depart the station next Monday, heading toward a 12:48 p.m. EDT (1648 GMT) Aug. 22 landing at Kennedy Space Center. Culbertson and his crew, meanwhile, are scheduled to remain in space until Dec. 9.
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