Space Shuttle Discovery sits docked with the International Space Station for the final time. Image Credit: NASA
At 2:14 p.m. EST, Commander Steve Lindsey backed Space Shuttle Discovery into pressurized mating adapter #2 on the International Space Station’s Harmony node. The two spacecraft were flying about 220 miles above western Australia at the time they docked.
FAST FACT: In 1999, Space Shuttle Discovery became the first shuttle to dock with the International Space Station. Today’s docking marks, Discovery’s 13th and final ISS docking.
A “hard mate” between Discovery and the International Space Station was delayed until 3:04 p.m. EST while the relative motions between the two spacecraft dampened out.
Space station Commander Scott Kellly (center), welcomes Discovery's crew aboard the ISS.
The station mass, now approximately 1.2 million pounds, with spacecraft, laboratories and robotic components from all the international partners attached at the same time, contributed to an alignment issue between the shuttle and station docking rings.
The “hard mate” between Discovery and station could not be accomplished until the motion stopped and Discovery’s docking ring could be retracted.
At 4:16 p.m. EST, hatches were opened between the International Space Station and space shuttle Discovery, beginning the joint phase of the STS-133 mission.
As tradition dictates, the ISS crew held a welcoming ceremony for the Discovery’s astronauts, followd by a Space Station safety briefing.
Later today, Alvin Drew, Eric Boe, Mike Barratt and Nicole Stott will use the shuttle and station robotic arms to remove the Express Logistics Carrier 4 from the shuttle payload bay and attach it to the right hand side of the station’s truss, or backbone. There, it will be used to store spare parts, including the spare radiator that launched with it.
