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Space shuttle Discovery docks with ISS

Houston: Space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station on Thursday, and its crew prepared to embark on the most challenging construction work ever attempted in a single mission.

With commander Pamela Melroy at the helm, Discovery snuggled up to the space station and latched on after performing a giant somersault to give engineers a close look at the ship’s belly and make sure it was not damaged during liftoff.

The docking marked the historic meet-up of the first two spacecraft simultaneously commanded by women. Space station commander Peggy Whitson is the first woman to be in charge of the orbiting lab.

NASA engineers did not spot anything significant in a preliminary look at images captured during Wednesday’s meticulous examination of Discovery’s nose and wings, said John Shannon, head of the mission management team. But officials will need even more data and analyses before they can be sure the shuttle’s thermal shielding made it through the launch damage-free.

Photos taken during Endeavour’s pre-docking backflip in August allowed engineers to spot a worrisome gouge in that ship’s belly. The shuttle landed safely after several days of debate over whether in-flight repairs were needed. Inspections became standard procedure after a piece of foam broke off Columbia’s external fuel tank during liftoff and gashed a wing, allowing hot gases to penetrate the spacecraft during its return. — AP

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