Space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station at 2:03 p.m. EDT, delivering the STS-124 crew, a new Japanese module and a new crew member to the orbital outpost.

Discovery carries with it the second component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory, the Japanese Pressurized Module (JPM). The 37-foot, 32,000-pound JPM will be attached to the left side of the Harmony connecting node by shuttle and station crew members during a series of three spacewalks. The JPM will join the first component of Kibo, the Japanese Logistics Module, which was launched on the last shuttle flight, STS-123, in March.

Also traveling with STS-124 is a new Expedition 17 crew member, astronaut Greg Chamitoff, who will replace Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman.

The STS-124 and Expedition 17 crews will conduct pressure and leak checks to prepare for the opening of the hatches between the two spacecraft at 3:52 p.m. They will then greet each other to begin nine days of joint operations.

Mission information

News from Commercial Space Watch