STS-131 Commander Alan G. Poindexter guided Discovery to an 8:08 a.m. CDT landing at the Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. Weather had caused postponement of the first day’s landing attempts, and a rain shower within 30 miles of the runway brought a wave-off of the first of today’s opportunities. Showers moved off to permit landing on the second. - NASA

Space shuttle Discovery’s crew is prepared to return home Tuesday, as mission managers closely monitor weather that could affect their entry and landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. - NASA

Space shuttle Discovery will spend another day in orbit after two landing opportunities at Kennedy Space Center in Florida were foiled by clouds and rain in the area. Forecasts call for Florida conditions to improve Tuesday and for generally good weather in California. - NASA

The astronauts onboard space shuttle Discovery are getting ready to conclude their successful mission to the International Space Station, weather permitting, with a planned landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Monday at 7:48 a.m. CDT. - NASA

This morning, Poindexter, Dutton and Metcalf-Lindenburger powered up Discovery’s flight control system and tested the flaps and rudder that will control the shuttle’s flight once it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. Next they test-fired the reaction control system jets that will control the shuttle’s orientation before it reaches the atmosphere. All seven crew members stowed items in Discovery’s cabin in preparation for re-entry and landing. - NASA

Preparations for landing take center stage on Sunday as the seven astronauts on space shuttle Discovery wrap up a 10-day stay at the International Space Station that included three spacewalks and delivery of more than seven tons of equipment and supplies. - NASA

Space shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station at 7:52 a.m. CDT, ending a stay of 10 days, 5 hours and 8 minutes. The visit included three spacewalks and delivery of more than seven tons of equipment and supplies. After undocking, Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. flew Discovery in a circle around the station at a distance of about 500 feet. Crew members shot photographs and video to document the station’s condition. - NASA

The crews of space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station will part company Saturday morning wrapping up a mission that brought 7.6 tons of supplies and equipment to the station, including a new crew sleeping quarters, a new ammonia tank, a new gyroscope and four experiment racks. - NASA

Space shuttle Discovery astronauts secured the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo in the cargo bay this morning, wrapping up its delayed move from the International Space Station. - NASA

Space shuttle Discovery’s crew will begin the day by packing the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module securely into the shuttle’s payload bay before conducting one last inspection of Discovery’s heat shield. - NASA

Leonardo, making is final round-trip to the station before becoming a Permanent Multi-Purpose Module for the station later this year, was unberthed at 3:24 p.m., about seven hours later than planned. The crew then used the station’s robotic arm to maneuver the module into position above Discovery’s payload bay. Leonardo will remain in this “low hover� position overnight, and the crew will spend about an hour and a half finishing the job of using Canadarm2 to latch it in the shuttle’s cargo bay on Friday. - NASA

Overnight International Space Station and Space Shuttle mission managers agreed there is no need for a fourth spacewalk to replace the nitrogen tank assembly that has a jammed valve. Station ground teams have determined the station can operate for an extended period of time in the current configuration. The team is continuing to troubleshoot the stuck valve and is looking at options for future replacement of the nitrogen tank assembly should that be necessary. - NASA

As the crew on orbit took an afternoon break, teams on the ground continued troubleshooting problems with a jammed cooling system valve, assessing options and developing plans for a possible fourth spacewalk. - NASA

The morning was devoted largely to finishing the loading of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Hatches between it and the station’s Harmony module are scheduled to be closed during the crew’s upcoming day. Only a few items await transfer to Discovery’s middeck. Some are experiments requiring refrigeration during their trip home. - NASA

The astronauts and cosmonauts on space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station will wrap up the transfer of equipment and science experiments between the two vehicles, join for the traditional crew news conference with reporters at the NASA centers and in Russia and take some time off to enjoy the view. - NASA

Space shuttle Discovery Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio and Clayton Anderson completed the replacement of a depleted ammonia coolant tank on the International Space Station, finishing the complex three-spacewalk process. - NASA

Robotic arm operators Wilson, Dutton and Soichi Noguchi will activate Canadarm2, the station’s arm, and grapple the old ammonia tank that was removed earlier in the mission and stored on the station’s Mobile Base System. They’ll move the depleted tank into Discovery’s payload bay so that Mastracchio and Anderson can bolt it onto a logistics carrier for the ride home to Earth. - NASA

After a morning off, Discovery astronauts got back to work moving equipment and supplies to and from the International Space Station and preparing for Tuesday’s spacewalk, the third and last planned for their mission. - NASA

Astronauts on space shuttle Discovery will enjoy some well-deserved off-duty time in the morning, then continue to transfer items from the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and prepare for the final spacewalk of the mission in the afternoon. - NASA

Discovery Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio and Clayton Anderson installed a 1,700-pound ammonia tank on the International Space Station, completing the second of a three-spacewalk coolant tank replacement process. - NASA

Anderson and Mastracchio will begin the second spacewalk at the spent ammonia tank to release it, move it and then store it until the final spacewalk on Tuesday. Next, the two will install two beams on the station’s port, left-side, truss to stow handles for use should a radiator need repairing before returning to the starboard side to install the new tank. - NASA

Spacewalkers Rick Mastracchio and Clayton Anderson configured tools for their Sunday spacewalk set to begin shortly after 1 a.m. Crew members gathered for a spacewalk procedures review. Mastracchio and Anderson will do the standard campout in the Quest airlock, spending the night at a lower air pressure of 10.2 psi to reduce the nitrogen content of their blood. That is a measure to avoid decompression sickness. - NASA

Later in the day, Anderson and Mastracchio will review procedures for their spacewalk and end their day by camping overnight in the Quest airlock at a reduced atmospheric pressure. Their spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 1:16 a.m. Sunday. - NASA

Discovery Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio and Clayton Anderson wound up a 6-hour, 27-minute spacewalk at 6:58 a.m. CDT after helping move a new 1,700-pound ammonia tank from Discovery’s cargo bay to a temporary parking place on the International Space Station. It was the first of three spacewalks planned during the STS-131 mission. - NASA

Mission Specialists Clayton Anderson and Rick Mastracchio will leave the Quest airlock after midnight for the mission’s first spacewalk to prepare a new ammonia tank and gyro assembly for the International Space Station and to retrieve a science experiment from the station’s porch, the Japanese Kibo Laboratory’s exposed facility. - NASA

It was moving day aboard the International Space Station as the Leonardo Multipurpose Logistics Module was relocated from Discovery’s payload bay to a port on the Harmony node at 11:24 Wednesday night. - NASA

Discovery’s crew is ready to lift the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module from the shuttle’s payload bay, mate it to the International Space Station’s Harmony module, and begin unpacking the 21-foot-long, 15-foot-wide moving van. - NASA

At 5:11 a.m. EDT, the crews opened shuttle and station hatches. Discovery's seven-person crew joined the six-person space station crew, beginning more than a week of work together. Four women are aboard the same spacecraft for the first time. - NASA

At 5:11 a.m. EDT, the crews opened shuttle and station hatches. Discovery's seven-person crew joined the six-person space station crew, beginning more than a week of work together. Four women are aboard the same spacecraft for the first time. - NASA

The Discovery astronauts used much of their workday checking out the shuttle's thermal protection system and preparing for the scheduled early Wednesday docking with the International Space Station. - NASA

Space shuttle Discovery’s seven-member crew will spend their first full day in space today conducting normal scans of their spacecraft, preparing spacesuits for use later in the mission and readying the shuttle to dock to the International Space Station early on Wednesday. - NASA

Discovery’s crew deployed the Ku-Band antenna shortly after reaching orbit and checked out its systems. The antenna did not successfully complete its standard initial activation sequence and is not operational at this time. The dish-shaped antenna is used for high data rate communications with the ground, including television, and for the shuttle's radar system that is used during rendezvous with the station. - NASA

Discovery is scheduled to dock to the space station at 3:44 a.m. on Wednesday, April 7. The shuttle will deliver science experiments, equipment and supplies to the station. The flight will include three spacewalks to switch out a gyroscope on the station's truss, or backbone, install a spare ammonia storage tank, and retrieve a Japanese experiment from the station's exterior. - NASA

T minus 0 seconds: Umbilicals attached to the Shuttle's aft compartments retract...8 explosive bolts fire...Discovery lifts off with about 7 million lbs of thrust...Space Shuttle Discovery has cleared the tower! - NASA

The team evaluated a few minor technical issues that came up late in the count but, "At the end of the day, a unanimous poll from the MMT that we’re for 'go' for launch," said Mike Moses, space shuttle launch integration manager. "We're really excited about this mission." - NASA

At this morning's STS-131 countdown status briefing, everything was reported "go", pointing toward space shuttle Discovery's liftoff on Monday morning. Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters gave an 80 percent chance of an on-time launch, with the only potential issues being a slight chance of a few clouds or early morning fog. - NASA

Space shuttle Discovery's seven astronauts arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida this morning, touching down on the Shuttle Landing Facility's runway at 6:53 a.m. EDT in a modified Gulfstream II jet. - NASA

At Launch Pad 39A today, NASA's Kennedy Space Center technicians have pressurized space shuttle Discovery's main propulsion system for flight in preparation for its 6:21 a.m. EDT liftoff on April 5. - NASA

Technicians at Launch Pad 39A are preparing space shuttle Discovery's reaction control system for pressurization of the main propulsion system for flight. The shuttle and crew are scheduled to liftoff on April 5 at 6:21 a.m. EDT (10:21 UT) to begin the STS-131 mission to the International Space Station. - NASA

NASA managers gave space shuttle Discovery the "go" for an April 5 launch date for the STS-131 mission to the International Space Station. After an all-day Flight Readiness Review meeting, there were no unresolved issues that would prevent Discovery and crew from flying a safe and successful mission. - NASA

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. - NASA

Crews at Launch Pad 39A finished installing the STS-131 payload into space shuttle Discovery's cargo bay as launch preparations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida reach the final stretch. Technicians are working to connect the necessary electrical connections today and closeout procedures on the vehicle's aft compartment are expected to be completed tomorrow.

Today at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, crews at Launch Pad 39A are set to install the STS-131 payload into space shuttle Discovery's cargo bay. Technicians also continue closeout procedures on the vehicle's aft compartment.

Today at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers will discuss data from tests performed last weekend on space shuttle Discovery's right reaction control system helium regulators.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians at Launch Pad 39A completed performing additional tests on space shuttle Discovery's right reaction control system helium regulators this past weekend. Preliminary data shows that thus far the regulators are functioning within specifications. Engineers will evaluate the data and discuss options Tuesday morning.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the canister carrying the payload for space shuttle Discovery's STS-131 mission to the International Space Station made its way to Launch Pad 39A in the predawn darkness this morning, arriving at 2:51 a.m. EDT.

Today on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians will open the rotating service structure that surrounds space shuttle Discovery. The move is in preparation for the transfer of the canister containing the STS-131 payload, which is set to begin 12:01 a.m. EDT Friday.

Technicians completed a test to pressurize space shuttle Discovery's Right Reaction Control System's helium tank to verify the overall health of the regulators downstream of the helium isolation valves. Preliminary data shows positive results for the test. Today, crews will begin preparing Discovery for further testing on the system. - NASA

On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians will continue a second day of helium tank pressurization on space shuttle Discovery in preparation for the helium system regulator testing later in the week. - NASA

Two helium system regulators, a primary and a secondary, will be tested to verify they are functioning correctly. The regulators are "downstream" of the isolation valves, and help to maintain helium pressure to the fuel tank. Knowing whether the regulators are operating correctly is a key factor for managers who must decide whether to launch with the errant condition of the isolation valves.

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