Early Sunday, the Atlantis and its seven-member crew successfully docked with the ISS, NASA officials announced, as the space station is prepares to receive a permanent crew in just a few weeks' time.

The spacecraft, piloted by commander Terrence Wilcutt, linked up with the station some 300 kilometers (186 miles) over the Earth, directly above Kazakhstan.

Shortly before 1 a.m. local time, (0500 GMT) Wilcutt announced: "Houston we have capture," as the Atlantis docked with the ISS.

Overnight Sunday to Monday, two crew members are to conduct a six-hour space walk, and astronauts are to board the ISS early Tuesday.

During Sunday's space walk, astronaut Edward Lu and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko will install cables and a magnetometer on the exterior of the station.

The main task of the Atlantis crew is to transfer more than a tonne and a half of equipment and supplies from the shuttle to the ISS, making the space station habitable for a crew due to arrive for a four-month stay in November.

The mission has not been flawless: on Saturday the crew of the Atlantis encountered a minor technical problem when two navigational devices allowing the shuttle to use the stars to determine its position failed. The glitch did not affect the overall mission however.

During the mission, the Atlantis crew will transfer more than 1.5 tonnes of equipment and supplies from the shuttle to the ISS, in preparation for the three-person crew due to arrive for a four-month stay in November.

Among the items to be loaded on the ISS are toilets, cooking equipment, electrical batteries, clothes, medical kits, computers, vacuum cleaners and trash bags.

The module Zvezda, the future living quarters for ISS crews which was launched in July, also will be inspected in space for the first time.

If all goes well Atlantis will touch down at the Kennedy Space Center here on September 19.

The space station, still under construction, currently comprises a US module, Unity and Russian modules Zvezda and Zarya. A Russian supply vessel called Progress docked at the station in August.

Sixteen countries have contributed to the conception and construction of the ISS, which is due to be completed in 2005.