By DPA,
Washington : Space shuttle Discovery docked Monday at the International Space Station after the day-and-half journey from Earth, carrying an enormous Japanese-made research module and a small Russian-made pump for a malfunctioning lavatory.
“Capture confirmed,” said a Discovery crew member to Earth control officials.
At the time of docking at 1803 GMT, the station was orbiting over the South Pacific, 350 km above Earth’s surface.
The seven-member crew included Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, who will help install the largest part of Japan’s Kibo – or “hope” – capsule during two of three spacewalks planned for the 14-day mission.
Also on board Discovery is new station crew member Greg Chamitoff, who will replace returning flight engineer Garrett Reisman, who will end a three- month stay aboard the outpost when Discovery undocks on June 11.
The first space walk is slated for 1532 Tuesday.
The three-person crew already at the space station is urgently awaiting a pump and other spare parts to fix the only toilet on the space station. A temporary fix for the astronauts is very uncomfortable, according to NASA.
The mission marks a halfway point to mothballing the US shuttle programme since the 2003 Columbia disaster, with only 10 flights left before NASA closes down the aircraft.