The OBSS will survey RCC panels and the shuttle's reinforced carbon carbon nose cap. To look for signs of tile damage on the underside of the shuttle, including possible damage to critical seals around landing gear doors, Discovery's crew will rely on help from the crew of the space station.

Docking is targeted for flight day three. Collins will guide Discovery through a standard rendezvous profile, approaching the lab complex from behind and below.

On final approach, at a distance of about 600 feet directly below the station, Collins will carry out a slow 360-degree rendezvous pitch maneuver, or RPM, that will point the belly of the shuttle at the station.

As the shuttle's underside rotates into view, Expedition 11 commander Sergei Krikalev and flight engineer John Phillips, shooting through windows at opposite ends of the station, will photograph Discovery's belly with handheld digital cameras equipped with 400- and 800-millimeter lenses. During an earlier expedition, science officer Donald Pettit took test photographs of approaching Russian spacecraft to determine what the station's cameras could actually see.

"The 800 millimeter gives them one-inch resolution, which is what we're looking for around (landing gear) door seals," Hill said. "400 millimeters gives three inches, which is what they're looking for everywhere else."

Again, imagery from the station will be downlinked that day for detailed analysis.

After completing the RPM maneuver, Collins will position Discovery directly ahead of the space station with the shuttle's nose facing deep space and its cargo bay facing the lab complex. She then will guide the spacecraft to a docking with a pressurized mating adaptor attached to the Destiny lab module, the first shuttle linkup with the outpost since Nov. 25, 2002.

After leak checks, Krikalev and Phillips will welcome the shuttle crew aboard and provide a brief safety briefing before all nine astronauts get down to work.

Because of clearance issues after the shuttle is docked, Discovery's robot arm cannot unberth the OBSS for additional tile inspections. Instead, the space station's arm - the SSRMS - will pluck the sensor boom from the shuttle's cargo bay and hand it off to Discovery's arm a few hours after docking.

Flight Day 3 highlights:

   DAY..EDT........DD...HH...MM...EVENT
   
   07/15/05
   Fri  04:51 AM...01...13...00...STS crew wakeup
   Fri  04:51 AM...01...13...00...ISS crew wakeup
   Fri  06:21 AM...01...14...30...ISS daily planning conference
   Fri  06:26 AM...01...14...35...Group B computer powerup
   Fri  06:41 AM...01...14...50...Rendezvous timeline begins
   Fri  07:06 AM...01...15...15...ISS: Phillips exercises
   Fri  07:06 AM...01...15...15...Ku antenna clearance video downlinked
   Fri  07:21 AM...01...15...30...Rendezvous tools setup
   Fri  07:26 AM...01...15...35...ET video downlinked
   Fri  07:23 AM...01...15...32...NH rendezvous rocket firing (192.8/155.8 nm)
   Fri  07:51 AM...01...16...00...Noguchi exercises
   Fri  07:56 AM...01...16...05...ISS: Krikalev exercises
   Fri  08:15 AM...01...16...24...NC-4 rendezvous rocket firing
   									(194.2/181.0 nm)
   Fri  08:51 AM...01...17...00...EMU removal from airlock
   Fri  09:21 AM...01...17...30...Thomas exercises
   Fri  09:41 AM...01...17...50...TI rendezvous rocket firing (194.6/185.2 nm)
   Fri  10:06 AM...01...18...15...Robinson exercises
   Fri  10:06 AM...01...18...15...ISS meal
   Fri  11:06 AM...01...19...15...Begin final approach
   Fri  11:10 AM...01...19...19...Discovery directly below ISS (+Rbar)
   Fri  11:31 AM...01...19...40...ISS crew films rotational pitch maneuver
   Fri  12:06 PM...01...20...15...ISS crew prepares PMA-2 for docking
   Fri  12:28 PM...01...20...37...Discovery docks with ISS (194.8/186.6 nm)
   Fri  12:56 PM...01...21...05...Leak checks
   Fri  12:56 PM...01...21...05...Camarda exercises
   Fri  01:26 PM...01...21...35...Shuttle airlock prepped
   Fri  01:31 PM...01...21...40...Group B powerdown
   Fri  01:31 PM...01...21...40...Post-rendezvous PGSC reconfig
   Fri  01:46 PM...01...21...55...Hatch opening
   Fri  02:31 PM...01...22...40...Handshake/Welcome
   Fri  02:41 PM...01...22...50...Safety Briefing
   Fri  03:06 PM...01...23...15...SSRMS OBSS grapple
   Fri  03:21 PM...01...23...30...Krikalev exercises
   Fri  03:21 PM...01...23...30...Collins exercises
   Fri  03:21 PM...01...23...30...EVA prep for transfer
   Fri  03:31 PM...01...23...40...OBSS unberth with SSRMS
   Fri  04:01 PM...02...00...10...OBSS handoff to SRMS
   Fri  05:11 PM...02...01...20...Lithium hydroxide exchange
   Fri  05:41 PM...02...01...50...SSRMS moves to Unity for MPLM inspection
   Fri  06:36 PM...02...02...45...ISS daily planning conference
   Fri  08:51 PM...02...05...00...STS/ISS crew sleep begins

Once the MPLM is in place, the SSRMS will lock onto a mobile base system on the front side of the station's unfinished solar array truss to assist with additional tile inspections. Later that day, the station's arm will be moved back to its normal perch atop the Destiny module. The astronauts, meanwhile, will perform leak checks to make sure the MPLM is firmly mated, they will pressurize the vestibule between Unity and the supply module, activate critical system and then float inside to begin the process of moving supplies into the space station.

At roughly the same time, yet another shuttle tile survey will begin using the RMS-OBSS boom, with additional TV views provided by the SSRMS.

In addition, the tools that will be used for the upcoming spacewalks will be configured for use, two emergency jet backpacks will be moved aboard the station and the crew will spend an hour reviewing the procedures that will be used in the first spacewalk.

Flight Day 4 highlights:

   DAY..EDT........DD...HH...MM...EVENT
   
   07/16/05
   Sat  04:51 AM...02...13...00...STS crew wakeup
   Sat  05:21 AM...02...13...30...ISS crew wakeup
   Sat  06:51 AM...02...15...00...ISS daily planning conference
   Sat  06:56 AM...02...15...05...SSRMS grapples multi-purpose logistics
   									module (MPLM)
   Sat  07:26 AM...02...15...35...SSRMS pulls MPLM from payload bay
   Sat  07:31 AM...02...15...40...Camarda exercises
   Sat  07:36 AM...02...15...45...ISS: Phillips exercises
   Sat  07:36 AM...02...15...45...ISS: Krikalev exercises
   Sat  08:01 AM...02...16...10...EVA tool config
   Sat  08:21 AM...02...16...30...MPLM installation begins
   Sat  08:56 AM...02...17...05...MPLM equipment setup
   Sat  09:26 AM...02...17...35...MPLM berthing mechanism (CBM) 1st torque
   Sat  09:26 AM...02...17...35...Crew meals begin (staggered)
   Sat  09:46 AM...02...17...55...MPLM CBS torquing (part 2)
   Sat  09:51 AM...02...18...00...Middeck transfers
   Sat  10:21 AM...02...18...30...Node 1 nadir CBCS removal
   Sat  10:36 AM...02...18...45...SSRMS ungrapples MPLM
   Sat  10:51 AM...02...19...00...SSRMS grapples mobile base system (MBS)
   Sat  11:31 AM...02...19...40...PAO A/G
   Sat  11:31 AM...02...19...40...MPLM vestibule pressurization
   Sat  11:36 AM...02...19...45...SSRMS ungrapples lab module
   Sat  11:51 AM...02...20...00...EVA tool config
   Sat  12:06 PM...02...20...15...SRMS/OBSS moved to tile survey point
   Sat  12:31 PM...02...20...40...MPLM vestibule preps and setup
   Sat  12:31 PM...02...20...40...Collins exercises
   Sat  12:36 PM...02...20...45...SRMS/OBSS docked survey
   Sat  12:36 PM...02...20...45...Middeck transfers
   Sat  01:31 PM...02...21...40...Thomas exercises
   Sat  02:01 PM...02...22...10...Robinson exercises
   Sat  02:31 PM...02...22...40...Noguchi exercises
   Sat  02:51 PM...02...23...00...ISS: Phillips exercises
   Sat  03:31 PM...02...23...40...EVA procedures review
   Sat  04:01 PM...03...00...10...MPLM ingress
   Sat  04:31 PM...03...00...40...SRMS/OBSS survey ends
   Sat  04:31 PM...03...00...40...MPLM EVA transfer
   Sat  05:31 PM...03...01...40...Transfer tagup
   Sat  05:31 PM...03...01...40...SAFER checkout
   Sat  05:31 PM...03...01...40...ISS daily planning conference
   Sat  05:46 PM...03...01...55...ISS: Krikalev exercises
   Sat  05:46 PM...03...01...55...STS crew leaves ISS
   Sat  05:56 PM...03...02...05...10.2 psi cabin depressurization
   Sat  08:51 PM...03...05...00...STS/ISS crew sleep begins

PREVIEW REPORT PART 7 --->