KSC-2010-2126

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the foot of Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-131 Mission Specialist Naoko Yamazaki of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency hops out of a slidewire basket during training on the emergency exit system at the pad. Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. holds the basket steady for her. The system includes seven baskets suspended from seven slidewires that extend from the fixed service structure to a landing zone 1,200 feet west of the pad. 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