The Space Shuttle Discovery is seen docked with the International Space Station with the earth in the background in this image from NASA TV February 26, 2011.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida |
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space shuttle Discovery arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday on its final mission before the United States retires its three-ship shuttle fleet later this year.
Carrying 10 tons of cargo and a crew of six to help get the orbital outpost ready for a future without shuttle support, Discovery blasted off Thursday on an 11-day mission that marks its 39th and last flight.
Sister ships Endeavour and Atlantis are scheduled for their final voyages within six months.
Before pulling into the shuttle's parking spot at 2:14 p.m. EST, commander Steven Lindsey back-flipped the ship so the station crew, headed by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, could photograph Discovery's heat shield.
NASA analyzes the images to check for damage from debris impacts during launch, a routine inspection since shuttle flights resumed after the 2003 Columbia accident.
The U.S. space agency expects no issues with Discovery, the oldest surviving shuttle, despite evidence that four large pieces of foam popped off the ship's disposable fuel tank about halfway through Thursday's 8-1/2-minute ride to orbit.
At that point, there is not enough force for flyaway foam to damage the shuttle on impact, unlike the chunk that fell off Columbia 82 seconds after launch, while the atmosphere was still thick.
Originally, Kelly expected to meet his identical twin brother, astronaut Mark Kelly, in orbit. But technical delays launching Discovery on its final voyage bumped back Endeavour's mission -- which Mark Kelly is commanding -- to April. Mark Kelly is the husband of Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman who was critically wounded in an assassination attempt last month.
ORBITAL PHOTO SHOOT
Discovery's launch delay also cost the crew its lead spacewalker, Tim Kopra, who was sidelined last month after a bicycle crash. NASA tapped Stephen Bowen to replace Kopra. He and spacewalker Alvin Drew are scheduled for two outings to work on the station during Discovery's week-long stay.
The Discovery crew, which also includes pilot Eric Boe and astronauts Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott, is delivering a new storage and research module, an external stowage platform, a spare radiator and a prototype humanoid robot named Robonaut 2, or R2, built in partnership with General Motors Co.
NASA expects to decide Tuesday whether to extend the mission one day for an unprecedented photo shoot. With Discovery's arrival, six spaceships -- the shuttle, three cargo ships from Russia, Japan and Europe, and two Russian Soyuz capsules -- are parked at the international outpost, a $100 billion project of 16 nations.
If approved, Kelly and two cosmonauts would board one of the Soyuz capsules for a 75-minute ride to photograph the station as it nears completion after 12 years of construction 220 miles above Earth.
After landing and post-flight cleanups, Discovery, which first flew in 1984, will be prepared for its new life as a museum piece.
(Editing by Tom Brown and Eric Beech)
The , flying the  mission, has successfully rendezvoused and docked with the International Space Station (ISS) today at 18:14 UTC for what is scheduled to be the final time in its career.

The  ''(pictured docked to ISS)'' has docked with the International Space Station for what is scheduled to be the final time on the  mission today. 
Official STS-133 crew portrait. From left to right: Alvin Drew, Nicole Stott, Eric Boe, Steven Lindsey, Michael Barratt and Steve Bowen 

''Discovery'' is delivering six astronauts to the orbiting outpost, as well as station parts and supplies including the , the  and , the first dexterous humanoid robot in space.

The docking, ''Discovery'''s 13th and final scheduled docking, occurred two minutes ahead of schedule, having been originally scheduled for 19:16 GMT today.

The hatch between the space shuttle and the ISS was opened at 20:16 UTC, after which the crew members of  welcomed the crew of STS-133 aboard the station. The crew then participated in a safety briefing with Expedition 26 commander , while Shuttle Flight Director Bryan Lunney took part in a mission status briefing on the ground which began at 20:50 UTC.

Later on today, crew members  and  are scheduled to move the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier-4 from the payload bay using the shuttle's robotic arm to the station's own robot arm for placement on the exterior of the orbital laboratory.

There was a delay in the docking mechanism's ability to make a seal between the two spacecraft during docking operations, so activities occurring later on in the day, including the transfer of ELC-4, may be delayed. This was primarily because of a mis-alignment between the docking systems of the shuttle and station due to gravitational effects. The entire delay took up approximately 40 minutes.

During ''Discovery'''s approach to the station earlier on today, the crew of Expedition 26 took pictures of the shuttle's underside from the station's windows in order to assist in analysis of the heat shield of the spacecraft.

NASA officials are debating whether or not to extend the mission an additional day for a photo shoot of the International Space Station, as it is currently host to six docked spacecraft from the United States, Russia, Europe, and Japan. A decision regarding this possibility is expected on Tuesday.

STS-133 is Space Shuttle ''Discovery'''s 39th and final scheduled mission into space and the program's 35th mission to the ISS, as well as the 133rd in the entire . There are two flights remaining before the retirement of the fleet that are still in planning:  and .