NASA said that the crew of the Discovery has finished the inspection of the craft's heat shield for any damage sustained during take-off.

The astronauts have used Discovery’s robotic arm and an attached boom extension to check the spacecraft’s underside, nose cap and leading edges of the wings as well as hard to reach shuttle surfaces.

According to the preliminary results, NASA announced that no major signs of impact were noted. The images taken by the astronauts will be sent to the Kennedy Space Center, Fla, where they will be analyzed by the engineers and flight controllers,

During takeoff, NASA identified about six small pieces of foam insulation that fell from the fuel tanks, but officials said they did not endanger the delicate heat-shield tiles that protect the shuttle from burning up when it returns home through Earth's atmosphere.

The inspection of the heat shields after launch has become routine since a problem with the tiles on the Space Shuttle Columbia caused it to explode on re-entry, killing all seven astronauts on board.

Flight Director Rick LaBode said at a press conference that the mission was going "extremely well."

NASA said that throughout the day, the crew has been preparing for Thursday’s arrival at the International Space Station, which is scheduled to occur at 8:33 a.m. Thursday.

Also the astronauts inspected the spacesuits to be used during the mission’s five scheduled spacewalks at the space station.

Discovery is set to deliver to ISS the Harmony module, but the STS-120 crew has taken in a trip to the stars the lightsaber handle that was used by Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars movie.

The lightsaber will spend 14 days in orbit on mission STS-120, but is not expected to leave the locker during the flight. It will be returned to Star Wars creator George Lucas' film company after the mission.

Also the astronaut Stephanie Wilson has taken a sheet of music from the Boston Symphony Orchestra onboard Discovery. The music comes from Beethoven's "Ode to Joy," a favorite in the orchestra's extensive repertoire. Wilson worked at one time in a music store in Tanglewood, Mass., which is the summer home of the orchestra.