The Shuttle’s rendezvous with Zarya actually begins with the precisely timed launch of Endeavour. Periodically during the 48 hours following launch, a series of rendezvous maneuvers will be performed by Cabana and Sturckow to slowly close in on the orbiting Zarya.

A day before the final rendezvous with Zarya, Currie will use the Shuttle's robotic arm to lift Unity from its horizontal berth in the aft cargo bay and securely latch it vertically atop the Orbiter Docking System in the forward portion of the bay.

The early approach to Zarya will be similar to those flown by the Shuttle during dockings with the Russian Mir Space Station. As the Shuttle closes in on Zarya, Currie will maneuver the robotic arm to a position above the cargo bay, in place to latch onto the module.

The final approach to the Zarya will be flown manually by Cabana, beginning about an hour before capture as he crosses about 600 feet directly beneath Zarya, crossing an imaginary line running from Zarya toward Earth called the "R-Bar," or radius vector. Cabana will then fly a half circle around Zarya, crossing the module's direction of travel, to again reach what is referred to the minus R-bar at a point about 250 feet directly above the module. Cabana will then move down toward Zarya along the R-bar. Cabana will complete the rendezvous by placing the edge of Endeavour’s payload bay within about 10 feet of Zarya, allowing Currie to capture the module with the arm and dock it on the Node's mating adapter.

Because the view of the Zarya from the crew cabin windows will be blocked by Unity, the final minutes of the rendezvous and capture will be conducted by the crew using only television monitors and the assistance of the Orbiter Space Vision System, an optical alignment aid that has been extensively tested on Shuttle flights leading up to STS-88. The alignment system uses the orbiter’s closed circuit television system’s view of special markings on the Zarya module to create a precise maneuvering aid for the crew when a direct line of sight is unavailable.

To mate Zarya and Unity, Currie will precisely position Zarya's docking mechanism above and adjacent to the mechanism on Unity. Then, as she puts the arm in a "limp" mode that allows movement, Cabana will fire Endeavour's thrusters to force the mechanisms together, similar to operations done earlier in the flight to dock Unity to the shuttle's docking mechanism.

Following the completion of assembly on flight day 11, Sturckow will undock from the newly assembled International Space Station and back away above, in reverse of the final approach. Then, Sturckow will perform a full-circle flyaround of the modules from a distance of about 450 feet for about an hour before firing thrusters to separate Endeavour from the vicinity.