SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

The STS-116 crew inspected Space Shuttle Discovery’s exterior Sunday and prepared for docking with the International Space Station.

Crew members used the robotic arm to grapple a boom extension sensor system to check the heat shield’s health following Saturday’s launch. After the completion of the inspections of the heat shield, the crew returned the boom to the payload bay and used the arm’s cameras to check out the shuttle’s upper surfaces.

Docking preparations included the checkout of rendezvous tools and the installation of equipment for use when Discovery links up with the station at 5:05 p.m. EST Monday. The astronauts’ activities also included a checkout of spacesuits they will use during STS-116’s three scheduled spacewalks to install the P5 integrated truss structure and rewire the station’s electrical system.

Discovery began its two-day chase of the station when it launched Saturday night from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. In addition to the P5, the STS-116 mission is also delivering a new crew member to the station.

*STS-116 Resources* + STS-116 TV Schedule http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/mission_schedule.html + Certificate of Flight Readiness http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/163551main_116-CoFR.pdf + News and Media Resources http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news/index.html

*STS-116 Mission* + The crew http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/index.html + The mission http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/mission_overview.html + The Integrated Truss Structure http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/its.html