WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- The crew members of U.S. space shuttle Discovery completed the scheduled inspections of heat shield before noon of their first full day in space while a preliminary look at digital images revealed nothing of significance, according to NASA mission updates on Wednesday.

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

Flight director Rick LaBrode said the initial check finds no shuttle problems, but it will take another few days before engineers and flight controllers on the ground finish analyzing everything.

The inspections are performed to check if any damage occurred to the heat shield during the climb to orbit that began when Discovery lifted off Tuesday from Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Throughout the day, the crew has also been preparing for Thursday's arrival at the International Space Station. Docking is scheduled to occur at 8:33 a.m. (1233 GMT) on Thursday.

Earlier on Wednesday, the crew checked out spacesuits to be used during the mission's five scheduled spacewalks at the station. One of the major objectives of the spacewalks is the temporary installation of the station's newest component, the Harmony connecting module, which is aboard Discovery en route to the station.