Space shuttle Discovery will be attached to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters today in NASA Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building. The shuttle is being prepared for its rollout to Launch Pad 39A, scheduled for March 2 at 12:01 a.m. EST.
At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Discovery's STS-131 crew members will be reviewing administrative and Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, or MPLM, berthing and unberthing procedures today.
MPLMs are large pressurized modules flown in the shuttle's payload bay and attached to the International Space Station after docking. The MPLM can carry up to 16 large containers or racks of supplies, such as food, clothing, spare parts and research equipment. For this flight, the MPLMs will be filled with science racks that will be transferred to the station's laboratories.
Discovery's liftoff is targeted for April 5 at 6:27 a.m. EDT.
Endeavour Completes Mission
Space shuttle Endeavour is home after two weeks in space, having delivered the final U.S. module and a "room with a view" to the International Space Station. STS-130 Commander George Zamka guided Endeavour to a landing at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility at 10:20 p.m. EST, to wrap up a 5.7 million mile mission.
Zamka, pilot Terry Virts and Mission Specialists Kathryn Hire, Stephen Robinson, Nicholas Patrick and Robert Behnken left behind more than 36,000 pounds of hardware that included the Tranquility Node 3 and the unique cupola providing a 360-degree view through seven windows.
Behnken and Patrick conducted three spacewalks during the mission totaling 18 hours, 14 minutes. That brings the totals for station assembly to 140 spacewalks and more than 873 hours.
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