Discovery reaches ISS

Discovery, the US space shuttle, successfully docked with the International Space Station delivering two solar panels to the orbiting laboratory. Koichi Wakata became the first Japanese astronaut to land on the ISS.The shuttle Discovery docked Tuesday with the International Space Station on a mission to deliver the orbiting lab's first Japanese crewmember and key parts to complete construction of the station. The two vessels linked up at 2119 GMT as they flew over southern Australia, around six minutes behind the estimated docking time but, barring minor communication issues between the ISS and mission control in Houston, without a hitch. During their 13-day mission, the Discovery crew, including Koichi Wakata, who will become the first long-stay Japanese crewmember on the ISS, will install two pairs of solar panels to the space station, one of the last major tasks of the more than decade-long effort to construct the orbiting outpost. Installing the solar panels was to have taken a two-astronaut team four space walks of more than six hours each to complete, according to NASA's original plans. But after lift-off was delayed last week because of a hydrogen leak, the solar panels are now due to be installed during three space walks, the first one set for Thursday, NASA said. The pairs of solar panels contain 32,800 solar cells and measure 35 meters (115 feet) long. Once the full array of solar panels is in place on the space station, they will provide enough electricity to fully power scientific experiments and support an expanded crew of six, due to arrive at the ISS in May. A crew of three -- two Americans and one Russian -- welcomed Discovery when it docked with the ISS.