The Expedition 18 and STS-119 crews greet each other after the hatches between the International Space Station and space shuttle Discovery were opened. Credit NASA TV

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Discovery docks with space station

Space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station at 5:19 p.m. EDT.

About an hour before docking,
STS-119 Commander Lee Archambault guided the shuttle through a Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver, or backflip, giving the Expedition 18 crew the opportunity to take pictures of the orbiter’s protective heat-resistant tiles. These photos will be sent to engineers on Earth for analysis.

The STS-119 and Expedition 18 crews conducted pressure and leak checks then opened the hatches between the two spacecraft at 7:09 p.m. to greet each other and begin a week of joint operations.

STS-119 Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA, is joining the Expedition 18 crew by trading places with Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus, KE5FYE. The two crews aboard the orbiting complex also will begin transferring cargo between the shuttle and the station.