04/01/10: STS-131: Space Shuttle Discovery is 80% Go for launch on Monday.

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.

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At this morning’s STS-131 countdown status briefing, everything was reported “go,” pointing toward space shuttle Discovery’s liftoff on Monday morning. Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters gave an 80 percent chance of an on-time launch, with the only potential issues being a slight chance of a few clouds or early morning fog.

NASA Test Director Jeremy Graeber reported that since arriving in Florida this morning, the astronauts had conducted a payload inspection at the pad, and the launch team was in final preparation and looking forward to the beginning of the countdown, which begins at 3 a.m. EDT tomorrow.

Discovery’s seven astronauts arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center this morning, touching down on Shuttle Landing Facility’s runway at 6:53 a.m. 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.”

April 1: At Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of space shuttle Discovery’s STS-131 crew get a close look at the orbiter docking system inside Discovery’s payload bay. Dressed in clean room attire, known as “bunny suits,” are Pilot Jim Dutton, left, and Commander Alan Poindexter. The crew arrived at Kennedy earlier in the day to make final preparations for their launch. On STS-131, the seven-member crew will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that will be transferred to the International Space Station’s laboratories. 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 is the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall. Launch is set for 6:21 a.m. EDT on April 5. 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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