Discovery Docks at Space Station

The shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station this morning, after a two-day journey from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Station commander Peggy Whitson rang a ship's bell to welcome the shuttle crew, which will over the next 10 days prepare the station for European and Japanese researchers, Reuters reports.

"Everybody here is just ecstatic," said Discovery's lead spacewalker. In addition to relocating an 18-ton solar power unit and hooking up the Harmony addition to the space station, the crew will try out a new technique for repairing the shuttle's heat shield. Video footage showed falling debris during Discovery's launch, though the shield is thought to be intact. (More NASA stories.)