Expedition 16 Welcomes STS-120 Crew Aboard International Space Station

Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Clay Anderson welcomed the seven-member STS-120 crew aboard the station at 10:39 a.m. EDT. The STS-120 crew arrived at the station when Space Shuttle Discovery docked at 8:40 a.m. Attention now turns to a crew exchange and on-orbit construction work.

One of the first major tasks is the station crew rotation. STS-120 Mission Specialist Daniel Tani will switch places with Anderson, who will be wrapping up a four-month tour of duty as an Expedition crew member. Tani is scheduled to stay on the station until he returns to Earth with STS-122 later this year.

Discovery also delivered the Harmony module, which will be attached to the station Friday. In addition, the STS-120 crew will conduct the first of five scheduled spacewalks Friday.

STS-120 is the 23rd shuttle mission to visit the station.