Live in orbit: Historic welcome aboard

For the first time in a half-century of spaceflight, two female mission commanders are about to have a historic encounter in low Earth orbit.

With Discovery safely moored to a conical docking port on the end of the U.S. Destiny module at the International Space Station, hatches between the spacecraft are expected to swing open around 10:30 a.m.

U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson -- the first female commander of the international outpost -- will welcome the crew of Discovery, which is led by Pam Melroy, only the second woman to command a shuttle mission.

You can watch the historic first here in The Flame Trench. Simply click the link below the image above to launch our NASA TV viewer, and refresh this page for periodic updates. You can also click and save any of the NASA TV screen grabs posted in the blog below.