This day marks the final withdraw of Japanese troops from Iraq. The Japanese troops could only contribute on humanitarian and reconstruction fronts during their stay in Iraq because of their constitution, which disallows the use of force in international disputes. Some Japanese believed that their involvement in the Iraq war violated their constitution, which was created by the United States in 1947 after World War II.

The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour reached the International Space Station on this day. The addition of Endeavour’s crew to the orbit made that the greatest number of astronauts ever together in orbit, at a total of thirteen.