KSC-2010-2088

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - As the sun sets at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparations are under way for STS-131 Commander Alan Poindexter and Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. to practice landing this Shuttle Training Aircraft, or STA. STS-131 will be Poindexter's second space shuttle flight and Dutton's first. The aircraft is a Gulfstream II jet, modified to handle like the space shuttle. The crew members of space shuttle Discovery's STS-131 mission are at Kennedy for training related to their launch dress rehearsal, the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The seven-member crew will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with resupply stowage platforms and racks, to the International Space Station aboard Discovery. Targeted for launch on April 5, STS-131 will be the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall. For information on the STS-131 mission and crew, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_shuttle_shuttlemissions_sts131_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett