[sarex] Discovery Docks With Station

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

After two days of orbital pursuit, Space Shuttle Discovery and the 
STS-116 crew reached the International Space Station. The two spacecraft 
linked up at 5:12 p.m. EST as they flew over southeast Asia.

The arrival of Discovery sets the stage for the continuation of station 
construction and a week of joint operations. Inside Discovery’s payload 
bay is the P5 integrated truss structure. The STS-116 crew will conduct 
three spacewalks to install the P5 and to reconfigure and redistribute 
power generated by the station. The first spacewalk is scheduled to kick 
off at 3:42 p.m. Tuesday.

Also on board the shuttle is the station’s next crew member. Astronaut 
Sunita Williams will join the Expedition 14 crew about an hour after she 
enters the station for the first time. The hatches between Discovery and 
the station are slated to open shortly after 7 p.m.

STS-116 is also delivering supplies and equipment to the station. Most 
of the supplies are located in a small pressurized logistics module 
called SPACEHAB, which is located in the payload bay.

Discovery is slated to stay at the station until Dec. 18. STS-116 is the 
20th shuttle mission to visit the station.

*STS-116 Resources*
+ STS-116 TV Schedule 
<http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/mission_schedule.html>