Shuttle Astronauts Arrive

at Space Station
By Tariq Malik
Senior Editor
posted: 17 March 2009
05:29 pm ET

This story was updated at 5:43 p.m. EDT.

The space shuttle Discovery arrived at the
International Space Station Tuesday after a two-day
chase, linking up with orbital lab to deliver the last
piece of the outpost's U.S.-built power grid.
With shuttle commander Lee Archambault at the
helm, Discovery docked at the space station at 5:19
p.m. EDT (2119 GMT) as the two spacecraft flew 220
miles (354 km) above western Australia.
"Welcome to the space station Discovery, we're glad
to see you're here," station skipper Michael Fincke
said as Discovery arrived.
Discovery's seven astronauts are expected to enter
the station later today after opening the hatches later
today.
Before the shuttle docked, Archambault flew the
spacecraft through an orbital flip 600 feet (183
meters) below the space station so astronauts inside
the outpost could photograph the thousands of heat-
resistant tiles covering the shuttle's belly.
Analysts on Earth will study the images from today's
survey to look for any signs of damage, though Fincke
said an early look found Discovery in good health.
"The orbiter looked clean, very nice," Fincke radioed
down to Mission Control.
The survey is follows a Monday inspection of
Discovery's wing edges and nose cap by the shuttle
astronauts. It is one in a series of checks that have
become standard after the 2003 loss of the shuttle
Columbia and its astronaut crew due to heat shield
damage. A third survey of Discovery's heat shield will
be performed next week after the shuttle leaves the
space station.
Aside from a slight delay due to a communications
glitch and the need to tweak Discovery's approach to
keep it aligned, Tuesday's docking went smoothly.
Busy mission ahead
Discovery launched toward the station late Sunday to
deliver a $298 million pair of new solar wings.
The solar arrays and their 16-ton support girder are
the last major American addition to the International
Space Station and will complete the outpost's 11-
piece main truss, which serves as the outpost's
backbone. They are the station's fourth set of the U.S.
solar arrays, with wings that are each 115 feet (35
meters) long when unfurled.
When complete, the space station's four solar arrays
will generate enough electricity to power 42 average
homes. Discovery's crew will perform three
spacewalks to install and deploy the new solar wings.
The space shuttle is also ferrying Japanese astronaut
Koichi Wakata to the space station, where he will
replace NASA astronaut Sandra Magnus as part of
the orbiting lab's crew. Wakata is a veteran spaceflyer
and Japan's first astronaut to live for months aboard
the space station.
"I'm looking forward to going into our new base in
space later today," Wakata radioed to Mission Control
Tuesday.
Magnus will return to Earth aboard Discovery when it
lands next week, with Wakata due to land aboard a
different shuttle later this year.
Discovery is also delivering a load of supplies to the
space station, including a vital spare part for the
outpost's urine recycling system and equipment to
help eliminate bacteria in a new water dispenser. The
repairs are expected to fix the station's water
recycling system and help the outpost support larger,
six-person crews later this year.
NASA trimmed a day and a spacewalk from
Discovery's initial 14-day and four-spacewalk flight
due to delays launching the spacecraft last week.
Mission managers want to complete the shuttle's
construction flight before the arrival of a Russian
Soyuz spacecraft carrying two new station
crewmembers and American space tourist Charles
Simonyi, who is paying more than $30 million for his
second trip into orbit. The Soyuz is scheduled to
launch on March 26 and arrive at the space station on
March 28, the same day Discovery is due to land.
SPACE.com is providing continuous coverage of
STS-119 with reporter Clara Moskowitz and senior
editor Tariq Malik in New York. Click here for mission
updates and SPACE.com's live NASA TV video feed.