Space shuttle Discovery’s astronauts steered closer to the international space station for a Sunday linkup, while checking their ship for any signs of launch damage.

The routine survey began early Saturday evening and lasted until the wee hours of Sunday.

NASA officials say no fuel tank debris was observed hitting Discovery during Friday’s midnight liftoff. But the shuttle’s most vulnerable areas — the wings and nose — still needed to be inspected with lasers and cameras on a boom attached to the robot arm. The images were beamed down for analysis.

Some of the images got held up because of a digital TV feed problem, but the early indication was that the survey results looked good.

“Nothing stood out that I saw,” said flight director Tony Ceccacci.

In addition, the shuttle’s underside will be photographed in detail by the space station residents Sunday night, right before the two craft meet.

A hole in the wing brought down Columbia six years ago. Ever since, NASA has been vigilant in seeking out indications of serious launch damage.

Discovery is loaded with supplies for the space station, now home to six astronauts. Once the seven shuttle fliers arrive, it will make for a record-tying crowd.

“It’s great to be back in space,” Discovery’s commander, Rick Sturckow, said Saturday afternoon.

“Micro G is great,” rookie astronaut Jose Hernandez noted in his first Twitter update from space. The Mexican-American grew up in a migrant worker family and applied for 12 straight years to become an astronaut, before getting picked in 2004. “Settling in and realizing my dream,” he wrote.

Discovery’s supply run will leave the space station well stocked; the shuttle is hauling about 17,000 pounds of equipment and science experiments. Six mice, part of a bone loss study, will move in for a three-month stay. So will astronaut Nicole Stott, the replacement for an astronaut who has been at the orbiting complex for more than a month.

Stott will help put together a brand new $5 million treadmill flying up on Discovery that will expand the space station’s gym. The treadmill, currently in more than 100 pieces, is named after Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert. Earlier this year, he won an online vote for naming rights to a space station room, but NASA picked the name Tranquility instead and offered him the running machine.

How about some true celestial information? Khagol Mandal, a group od amateur astronomers, plan to start a study group in Pune. Watching the stars is not just their hobby, but also their passion. A group of amateur astronomers from Mumbai will open a study group in Pune and showcase the various fascinating aspects of the solar system.

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Khagol Mandal was founded in Sion in 1985. The group will now start its activities in Pune with a night sky-watching workshop that will be held every month. The group recently held an exhibition in the city, showcasing various aspects of the solar system and displaying a variety of telescopes to lure people.

Sarang Oak, who shifted to Pune from Mumbai and was a member of the organisation, missed sky-watching workshops that he used to attend in Mumbai.

Oak said, “We would on a Saturday every month at Vangani Lake in Mumbai to watch the sky through the entire night. But since many of our members are settled in Pune, we’ve decided to start a similar workshop in Pune.”

Khagol Mandal also conducted a lecture by professor Mohan Apte on India’s Chandrayan moon mission.
Oak added, “We are planning a trip to Nandurbar in Maharashtra or Benaras for those who want to witness the total solar eclipse on July 22. The details of our activities will be updated on our website www.khagolmandal.com.”