Hatches Opened Between Space Station and Shuttle Discovery at 7:09 p.m. EDT

Hatches between space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station are open and the astronauts are assembling in the Harmony module for the welcoming ceremony. Space station commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineers Sandra Magnus and Yury Lonchakov will welcome Discovery Commander Lee Archambault and his crew members Tony Antonelli, Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Koichi Wakata.

At 7:15 p.m. EDT, or following the welcoming ceremony, NASA Television will carry a Mission Status Briefing with STS-119 Lead Shuttle Flight Director Paul Dye and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency representative Kuniaki Shiraki.

At about 7:30 p.m., Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Wakata will become a member of the station’s Expedition 18 crew and Sandra Magnus will become a member of Discovery’s crew. Magnus will have been a space station crew member for 121 days.