Image Above: Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson, KC5ZTD (left) welcomes STS-120 Commander Pam Melroy aboard the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA TV

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Discovery at Space Station, Joint Operations Begin

The STS-120 crew entered the International Space Station for the first time after the hatches between the station and Space Shuttle Discovery opened at 10:39 a.m. EDT today.

Space Shuttle Discovery and the STS-120 crew arrived at the International Space Station at 8:40 a.m., delivering a new module and crew member to the orbital outpost.

One of the first major tasks was the station crew rotation. STS-120 Mission Specialist Daniel Tani, KD5DXE switched places with Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson, KD5PLA, who wrapped up a four-month tour of duty as an Expedition crew member. Tani is scheduled to stay on the station until he returns to Earth with STS-122 later this year.

Image Above: Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson, KC5ZTD (left) welcomes STS-120 crew members aboard the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA TV

Tani officially became a member of Expedition 16 when his custom-made seat liner was swapped out with Anderson’s in the Soyuz spacecraft docked to the station.

Also, preparations will begin today for the first of five scheduled STS-120 spacewalks. The first spacewalk is set to kick off at 6:28 a.m. Friday.