By Irene Klotz and Ed Stoddard
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla./HOUSTON (Reuters) - Space shuttleDiscovery closed in on the International Space Station onSunday to deliver a Japanese research laboratory, a new crewmember and a repair kit for the outpost's faulty toilet.
The spaceship was scheduled to arrive at the stationshortly before 2 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. British time) on Monday. Theshuttle and seven astronauts blasted off from the Kennedy SpaceCenter in Florida on Saturday for a two-week mission.
Because the Japanese laboratory in Discovery's cargo bay isso large, it is flying without an inspection boom routinelyused since the 2003 shuttle Columbia catastrophe to scour theships for damage. The last shuttle to visit the space stationleft its boom behind for the Discovery crew to use and returnto Earth.
The astronauts on Sunday performed a limited inspection ofthe ship's wings using a camera on the end of the shuttle's50-foot robot arm.
The arm is only long enough for the crew to take images ofthe upper surfaces of the wings' leading edges. A more thoroughinspection is planned for later in the mission.
"We got some great imagery," said lead shuttle flightdirector Matt Abbott. The data was being examined by experts onthe ground.
The shuttle also lost about five pieces of insulating foamfrom its fuel tank during liftoff, the same problem thattriggered the 2003 loss of Columbia in which seven astronautsdied. Analysis of this problem was under way but NASA's topspace operations manager said there was no cause for concern.
"We don't consider those a big deal to us," said spaceflight chief Bill Gerstenmaier.
NASA spent more than $1 billion and two years fixing thetank to minimize debris and added a suite of inspection toolsto check for damage after launch.
Because of the shuttle's design, NASA says it will nevercompletely solve the debris issue but it does expect anyfly-away foam will be too small and occur too late during theclimb to orbit to do any damage.
As the shuttle ascends, there is less atmosphere totransport debris and less energy for it to impact the shuttle.
The main goal of NASA's 123rd space shuttle flight is todeliver Japan's lab, named Kibo, which means "hope."
The lab's launch had been on hold for years due to delaysin the construction of the station. NASA now has just two yearsto complete assembly in advance of the shuttle fleet'sretirement.
Seven construction missions and two resupply flights arepending. The U.S. space agency also plans a final servicingcall to the Hubble Space Telescope in October.
The Discovery crew is also carrying a new pump for thestation's sole toilet, which has been working erratically forthe past week or so. Crew members have been manually flushingthe commode with water four to five times a day to push urinethrough a system that separates liquids from gases.
The solid-waste system is not affected by the problem.
(Editing by Bill Trott and Jackie Frank)
