Washington - The crew of the US shuttle Discovery prepared to carry out key safety checks on their spacecraft on their first full day in space on Monday as they headed for the International Space Station.
After being woken by mission control in Houston with the song "Free Bird" by US rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, the seven-member crew was to deploy the shuttle's robotic arm and check the wings and nosecap for any damage.
The data gathered during the inspection will be sent back to Earth where experts will "look for evidence of damage done by flying debris during launch," NASA said.
NASA has blamed the disintegration in February 2003 of the space shuttle Columbia as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere on a piece of debris that broke off the external tank and struck the leading edge of one of the wings, damaging the vessel's thermal protection system.
NASA grounded all shuttle programs for two-and-a-half years after the Columbia tragedy, which claimed the lives of all seven crew members on board. The shuttle programme resumed with the first lift-off of Discovery in July 2005.
Discovery is due to dock with the International Space Station at 2113 GMT on Tuesday.
During their 13-day mission the seven-member shuttle crew will deliver and install two final 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 laboratory.
The shuttle will also deliver the first Japanese crewmember, Koichi Wakata, to the station, where he will replace US astronaut Sandra Magnus, who has been on the ISS for four months.
Wakata is due to remain on the ISS until June 209.
Installing the solar panels on the $100-billion space station 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 in the external fuel tank, 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 35m 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 station in May 2009.
There are currently three crewmembers on board the space station.
Discovery's crew members are also due to replace a failed unit which helps to convert urine to drinking water.
The mission is the 125th shuttle flight and the 36th by Discovery. - AFP