| Time-elapsed photography captures space shuttle
Discovery's path to orbit. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39A at
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida was at 6:21 a.m.
(EDT) April 5, 2010 on the STS-131 mission. Onboard are NASA
astronauts Alan Poindexter, commander; James P. Dutton Jr.,
pilot; Rick Mastracchio, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger,
Stephanie Wilson and Clayton Anderson; along with Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Naoko
Yamazaki, all mission specialists. 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 structure, 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. Photo courtesy of NASA
More Discovery STS-131 Photos |
Video of
April 5, 2010 Launch |
