CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 6 (UPI) -- The space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station Thursday for an eight-day visit to deliver supplies and a crewmember.
The seven-person Discovery crew docked on schedule at 10:52 a.m. EDT to deliver more than 5,000 pounds of equipment and supplies and drop off European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter of Germany. Reiter, becoming the third ISS crewmember, is to remain on the space station for six months.
The shuttle's crew performed an unusual maneuver as they approached the station. Commander Steve Lindsey put the shuttle into an inverted configuration so the ISS crew could inspect and photograph the spacecraft's underside to check for damage that might have occurred during the launch.
