KSC-2010-2518

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the astronauts on space shuttle Discovery's STS-131 crew, dressed in their orange launch-and-entry suits, wave to spectators as they walk out of the Operations and Checkout Building for the ride in the Astrovan to Launch Pad 39A. In the left column, from the front, are Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. and Mission Specialists Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger and Naoko Yamazaki of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. In the right column, from the front, are Commander Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio and Stephanie Wilson. Mission Specialist Clayton Anderson is in the back. Liftoff of the STS-131 mission is set for 6:21 a.m. EDT on April 5. 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. 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