Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Discovery docks w/ISS despite malfunction

View of Discovery's cockpit from ISS.

I think they do this just to spite me. The shuttle crew's day occurs while most of us are sleeping, therefore we miss some of the video of the activities. Thank goodness for NASA TV and replays!

While we slept, the shuttle made a very good approach to the station and docked after midnight. Discovery's KU-band radar was non-functional, so the crew had to rely on their simulator training for just such an event. All went well, however, and the crew has entered the station and began operations to deliver all the supplies.

Tonight the crew will use the shuttle's arm to move the Leonardo module from the shuttle cargo bay and attach it to the station. Leonardo is a module the size of a moving van is carrying many supplies and experiments for the ISS. Opening of the hatch for Leonardo is scheduled for 5 am tomorrow.

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