Shuttle heads for space station after scan

HOUSTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) The Discovery headed for a rendezvous with the International Space Station after a scan showed no damage to the shuttle during the first night-time launch since the 2003 Columbia disaster, mission managers said.

''The team sees nothing of concern at this time,'' NASA shuttle program deputy manager John Shannon told reporters after a meeting of the mission management team.

The shuttle is to arrive at the station at 0335 IST tomorrow delivering a new crew member and a new structural piece. Astronauts also will rewire the station to prepare for installation of additional solar-power arrays.

As the shuttle nears the station for docking, commander Mark Polansky will maneuver Discovery through a 360-degree pirouette, allowing station crew to photograph the ship's underside for inspection teams on the ground, a key step in clearing Discovery for landing after a 12-day mission.

Space agency officials were surprised at the quality of long-range pictures taken during Saturday's launch and pleased that photos, radar and sensor data on the ship showed no significant impacts by launch debris, Shannon said.

Expanded ground-based observation and inspections by astronauts in orbit using a sensor-laden, 50-foot extension to the ship's robot arm became routine after Columbia was fatally damaged by a piece of falling foam debris during launch. The ship disintegrated trying to land 16 days later, killing all seven astronauts aboard.

NASA's three post-Columbia shuttle launches have all been conducted during daylight hours so cameras would have a clear view of any debris falling off the fuel tank.

After two tank redesigns and two successful flights, NASA decided it was ready to lift the night-time launch ban, which severely restricts the number of opportunities to fly the shuttle to the International Space Station.

Without the flexibility to launch in darkness, NASA would not have enough time to finish assembling the half-built International Space Station before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010.

The shuttles are the only ships suitable for space station construction and at least 14 missions, including Discovery's, are needed to complete the station. The shuttle can only be launched at precise times when the station is within reach of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and when sun angles and other conditions are suitable for the shuttle to be in orbit.

In addition to the inspections, Discovery astronauts checked out the spacesuit needed for three spacewalks planned to upgrade the station.

Discovery is also carrying a new resident crewmember for the space station. Sunita Williams will swap places with outgoing station flight engineer Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency.

The flight is expected to wrap up with a landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 21.

REUTERS SP BST0912