That drew a laugh from Culbertson, who watched on from inside the station Monday as Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Turin removed an errant seal that had kept the Russian Progress supply ship from securely attaching itself to the station.

And while the shuttle crew struggled for an hour, Endeavour's docking ring ultimately was extended and fully retracted, enabling latches to form an airtight seal between the craft.

Hatches between Endeavour and the station then swung open at 5:42 p.m. EST (2242 GMT), and the shuttle crew made its way into the U.S. Destiny science laboratory.

Floating into their new home for the first time: Incoming Russian commander Yuri Onufrienko and two American flight engineers, Daniel Bursch and Carl Walz, a trio collectively known as the Expedition Four crew.

Culbertson, Dezhurov and Turin, the three of whom have been onboard the outpost since August, were there to greet them. Rounding out the party: Gorie and his three shuttle crewmates, pilot Mark Kelly and mission specialists Linda Godwin and Dan Tani.

Keeping up a nautical-and-now-station tradition, Culbertson clanged a bell as the new outpost crew and the visiting shuttle astronauts hooted and hollered inside the Destiny lab. The 10 astronauts and cosmonauts hugged, shook hands and snapped pictures of each other.

"Welcome to the International Space Station," Culbertson said. "This is a very great place. You're going to love it here. And we'll tell you all about it and help you get settled, but we're really happy to see all of you."

The veteran U.S. astronaut congratulated the Endeavour crew for pulling off the link-up despite the problem with the shuttle's docking mechanism.

"Hardware always gives us trouble, so get used to it," he said. "But you guys fixed it very well."

Gorie, meanwhile, marveled at the view of the station as the shuttle approached the outpost at a distance of about 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 kilometers).

"When we saw the station light up, it was like a star in the distance. And the first time the sun came up, it turned it a golden red, he said. "The color was just spectacular. You're house is beautiful, and it's even prettier on the inside. We're just happy as all get-out to be here."

The boisterous welcoming ceremony followed a two-day chase that began with the shuttle's sunset launch Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Periodically firing the shuttle's maneuvering engines and steering jets, the Endeavour crew gradually narrowed what began as about an 8,000-mile (12,800-kilometer) gap between the craft.

Full-color video beamed back from the station during Endeavour's final approach showed the stubby-winged shuttle against pitch-black space, and then soaring high above thick, white cloud cover over the South Pacific Ocean.

Gleaming in its cargo bay: An Italian moving van filled with 3.5 tons of food, clothing, supplies and equipment for Onufrienko, Bursch and Walz, who plan to live and work aboard the station until the middle of next May.

Shuttle cameras beamed back spectacular video of the front end of the 17-story station. Massive gold solar wings could be seen along with lengthy station radiators, a dish-shaped communications antenna and a $600 million Canadian robot arm.

Also in view: The station's conical shuttle docking port, the cylindrical Destiny lab and the $164 million U.S. Quest airlock, which is shaped like a giant aluminum Genie bottle.

Said shuttle pilot Kelly: "The station is an amazing place."

The 10 astronauts and cosmonauts will spend the next week moving the new crew into the station and the old crew out of the outpost.

The first order of business: Swapping out custom-made seat liners in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that serves as an emergency lifeboat at the station.

That work will begin about 10:19 a.m. EST (1519 GMT) Saturday, and once it's done, Culbertson, Dezhurov and Turin will become part of the shuttle crew. Onufrienko, Bursch and Walz at that point will take up residence on the station.

Also on tap Saturday: An operation aimed at temporarily mounting the shuttle-borne moving van to a berthing port on the station's Unity module so that it can be unpacked. The shuttle's 50-foot (15-meter) robot arm will be used to do that job beginning at 11:19 a.m. EST (1619 GMT).

The highlight of the shuttle crew's stay at the station is expected to be a four-hour spacewalk that is scheduled to kick off about 12:24 p.m. EST (1724 GMT) Monday. Godwin and Tani will venture outside the station to wrap thermal blankets around a balky motor drive on the station's American-made solar wings.

With Culberston, Dezhurov and Turin aboard, Endeavour is scheduled to depart the station next Friday, heading for a planned 12:28 p.m. EST (1728 GMT) Dec. 16 landing here at NASA's coastal Florida spaceport.

NASA mission managers, however, are considering extending the mission by a day. A Dec. 17 landing would cap a 129-stay in space for Culbertson and his crew.