Live in orbit: Spacecraft make radio contact

Flying five-and-a-half miles below and behind the International Space Station, Discovery's astronauts made radio contact with the crew of the orbiting outpost.

"Alpha, Discovery, comm check on The Big Loop," Discovery mission commander Pam Melroy called out over a communications channel that merges radio signals from the shuttle and the station.

"Discovery, this is Alpha on The Big Loop. We have you loud and clear Pambo," station flight engineer Clay Anderson replied from inside the U.S. Destiny science laboratory at the outpost.

"We have you loud and clear also, Hucksbo. We can't wait to see you," Melroy said.

"We're looking forward to it," Anderson said.

Nicknamed "Pambo" by former astronaut Brian Duffy, commander of the first mission Melroy flew back in 2000, the shuttle skipper assigned her crewmates "Bo" nicknames.

Pilot George Zamka is "Zambo" and mission specialist Scott Parazynski -- who is six feet, two inches tall -- is "Longbow." Robot arm operator Stephanie Wilson is "Robeau" and Douglas Wheelock -- a guy who can light a fire with wet sticks -- is "Flambo." Mission specialist Dan Tani, an Asian-American, is "Bo-Ichi," and Paolo Nespoli is "Rocky" because the crew couldn't come up with a good "Bo" nickname for the Italian astronaut, who bears a slight resemblance to Sylvester Stallone.

We're not sure, but we're guessing that Anderson -- who will return to Earth with Discovery's crew -- is dubbed "Hucksbo" for his folksy Huckleberry Finn nature. That's just a WAG, though.

(9:28 A.M. BO-UPDATE: NASA flight commentator Kylie Clem tells us it's actually "Husk-Bo." A native of Nebraska, Anderson is a huge fan of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers.)

Discovery is on track for an on-time docking at 8:33 a.m. EDT. Melroy will guide the shuttle through an orbital backflip around 7:32 a.m., and hatches between the joined spacecraft are scheduled to swing open about 10:30 a.m. EDT. The hatch-opening will mark the first time two female space mission commanders have met in orbit.

IMAGE NOTE: Click to enlarge and save the NASA TV screen grab of Discovery as viewed from the International Space Station during rendezvous operations in low Earth orbit.