Managers are meeting today at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the STS-131 Flight Readiness Review, ensuring space shuttle Discovery, the mission’s crew and the payload all are ready for flight. At the end of the day-long review, they’ll set the official STS-131 launch date. A press conference will follow the meeting’s conclusion on www.nasa.gov/ntv. Launch currently is targeted for April 5.
Meanwhile, crews will complete closeout of Discovery’s aft compartment at Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39A. The mission’s payload, including the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, was installed inside the shuttle’s cargo bay this week.
At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the STS-131 astronauts continue to shift their sleep schedules to prepare for the upcoming mission. They will go into quarantine on Saturday, March 27, and are scheduled to fly to Kennedy for the countdown on Thursday, April 1.