Astronaut Joseph Acaba, STS-119 mission specialist, works on the aft flight deck of Space Shuttle Discovery during flight day two activities.
(PhysOrg.com) -- At 5:19:53: p.m. EDT, space shuttle Discovery docked to the Pressurized Mating Adaptor on the front of the International Space Station's Harmony module.
Mission Control in Houston gave Discovery a "go" for docking at 4:40 p.m. EDT.
Docking occurred over Lake Wells, western Australia. During the next eight days, the combined crews of Discovery and the station will install the S6 truss, complete three spacewalks and transfer hundreds of items between the two craft.Hatches between Discovery and the station will be opened at about 7 p.m., followed by the traditional welcoming ceremony.
At about 7:30 p.m., Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata will become a member of the station's Expedition 18 crew and Sandra Magnus will become a member of Discovery's crew. Magnus will have been a space station crew member for 121 days.
Provided by JPL/NASA (news : web)
