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Mission: STS-131
Orbiter: Discovery
Launch Pad: 39A
Launch Date: NET April 5, 2010, 06:21 EDT (10:21 UT)
Landing: April 20, 2010, Kennedy Space Center
Main gear touchdown: 09:08:35 EDT
Nose gear touchdown: 09:08:47 EDT
Wheels stop: 09:09:33 EDT
Orbital Altitude: 122 nautical miles (140 miles)
Orbital Insertion: 191 nautical miles (220 miles)
Orbital Inclination: 51.6 degrees
Crew:- Commander: Alan Poindexter; Pilot: James Dutton; Mission Specialists:- MS1 Richard Mastracchio, MS2 Dorothy M. Metcalf-Lindenburger, MS3 Clayton Anderson, MS4 Stephanie Wilson, MS5 Naoko Yamazaki (JAXA).
Primary Payload: Multi-Purpose Logistics Module: Leonardo.
Cape Canaveral weather forecast
Space shuttle Discovery’s seven astronauts arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida this morning, touching down on the Shuttle Landing Facility’s runway at 6:53 a.m. EDT in a modified Gulfstream II jet.
In brief remarks before leaving the runway, Commander Alan Poindexter said that the crew is very happy to be at Kennedy, adding, “We had a short flyby of the pad and saw the good ship Discovery out there and it looks great and we’re ready to go.”
As crews at Launch Pad 39A continue Discovery’s final preparations for flight, at 3 a.m. tomorrow, the countdown clock is set to begin ticking down toward a 6:21 a.m. liftoff on Monday.
Shuttle Discovery’s seven astronauts for the STS-131 mission arrived at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility aboard a modified Gulfstream II Shuttle Training Aircraft, or STA, at 6:53 a.m. EDT. From left are Mission Specialist Clayton Anderson, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Naoko Yamazaki, Mission Specialists Stephanie Wilson, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger and Rick Mastracchio, Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. and Commander Alan Poindexter. The STS-131 mission will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with resupply stowage platforms and science racks to the International Space Station. The crew also will switch out a gyroscope on the station’s truss, install a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieve a Japanese experiment from the station’s exterior. STS-131, scheduled to liftoff from Launch Pad 39A on April 5, at 6:21 a.m. EDT will be the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall. Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
– courtesy of NASA
- 04/19/10: Space Shuttle Discovery lands at Kennedy Space Center.
STS-131 Commander Alan G. Poindexter guided Discovery to an 8:08 a.m. CDT landing at the Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. Weather had caused postponement of the first day’s landing attempts, and a rain shower within 30 miles of the runway brought a wave-off of the first of today’s opportunities. Showers moved off to permit landing on the second. - NASA - 04/19/10: STS-131 crew spends an extra day in orbit.
Space shuttle Discovery’s crew is prepared to return home Tuesday, as mission managers closely monitor weather that could affect their entry and landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. - NASA - 04/19/10: Space Shuttle Discovery: today's landing waived off.
Space shuttle Discovery will spend another day in orbit after two landing opportunities at Kennedy Space Center in Florida were foiled by clouds and rain in the area. Forecasts call for Florida conditions to improve Tuesday and for generally good weather in California. - NASA - 04/18/10: STS-131 crew prepares for landing.
The astronauts onboard space shuttle Discovery are getting ready to conclude their successful mission to the International Space Station, weather permitting, with a planned landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Monday at 7:48 a.m. CDT. - NASA - 04/18/10: Crew powers up Discovery’s flight control system; tests flaps and rudder.
This morning, Poindexter, Dutton and Metcalf-Lindenburger powered up Discovery’s flight control system and tested the flaps and rudder that will control the shuttle’s flight once it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. Next they test-fired the reaction control system jets that will control the shuttle’s orientation before it reaches the atmosphere. All seven crew members stowed items in Discovery’s cabin in preparation for re-entry and landing. - NASA
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