Astronauts enter space station

The smiling astronauts of the space shuttle Discovery entered the international space station today to deliver a German crew member, the first European to work on the orbiting platform.

After hatches opened, American astronaut Jeff Williams, who has been living aboard the space station since March 31, told ground controllers that he hasn’t seen a frown in three months.

But then it was down to the business of safety training for Discovery’s seven astronauts who had to learn how to deal with station emergencies as part of protocol.

Space shuttle Discovery docked with the international space station this morning and then the two ships opened their hatches about 100 minutes later.

Discovery delivered its newest inhabitant – German astronaut Thomas Reiter, who will return the orbiting complex’s crew to three for the first time in three years.

An hour before the docking, Discovery commander Steve Lindsey manually flipped the spacecraft so the space station’s crew could photograph its 'belly' for any signs of damage.