With the White House and Congress pressuring NASA to reduce space station costs and construction delays, the agency felt compelled to adhere to a fixed shuttle flight schedule for station missions, which would affect non-station missions as well, the report said.

CNN: Shuttle not likely to fly by spring, experts say

Until the problem was fixed, Discovery had to sit at least 120 metres (400 feet) from the station for fear that its thrusters might damage the fragile wing if it was loose.

BBC: Discovery docks with space station

At the top of each pitch, he pulled up the slack in the rope, fixed it to the anchor and started climbing again, while I used mechanical ascenders to get to the station and put him on belay as fast as I could.

WSJ: El Capitan's Nose in a Day | By Michael J. Ybarra