The shuttle Discovery has arrived at the space station

Before the meeting, the shuttle commander made a turn to allow the station staff to photograph the underside of the Discovery

17: 15 Update

The space shuttle Discovery and its STS-120 crew members arrived at the International Space Station at 08:40 (14:40 Israel time) and with them a new component and a replacement crew member to the station.

STS-120 crew members and members of the station's 16th crew performed leak detection operations before opening the hatch between the two spacecraft around 16:30 p.m. After that, everyone will enter the station and quickly begin the joint operations.
NASA says that this mission will be one of the busiest in the history of space shuttle flights, and a lot of activity both inside the station and the shuttle and outside them is expected for the astronauts in the next ten days.

Update – 00:00Members of the Discovery crew examined the shuttle's heat shield

This is as part of a routine procedure that was implemented after the Columbia disaster. The shuttle is expected to arrive at the space station today in the early afternoon Israel time

Pictured: The space shuttle Discovery's robotic arm and its expansion unit during its return after completing the heat shield test. Photo: NASA

STS-120 crew members have completed tests of the space shuttle Discovery's thermal protection system. They used the shuttle's robotic arm and an extension unit containing sensors and cameras to examine the shuttle's underside, nose dome and wingtips, as well as hard-to-reach areas of the shuttle's shell.

The tests were carried out to detect if any damage was caused to the heat shield during the ascent to orbit after Tuesday's launch from the Kennedy Space Center. During the next few days, engineers and air traffic controllers will analyze the photos collected by the crew in order to locate these damages.

Throughout the day, the crew prepared for their arrival at the International Space Station. Today's activity included expanding the shuttle's docking ring and examining the tools that will be used to meet and communicate with the station. Docking is expected today, Thursday at 08:33 EST (14:33 Israel time).

Earlier, the crew tested the spacesuits that will be used for the five spacewalks planned for this mission outside the space station. One of the main goals of the spacewalks is to temporarily install the station's harmonic component, which will be moved to another location within the station in the future. Crew members will also reposition the P6 component on its solar array. Also, the ferry will bring a new crew member to the station.