Space Shuttle Crew Set to Return to Earth Monday
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member
crew are expected to return to Earth on Monday, April 19, after a
14-day mission. NASA managers will evaluate weather conditions at the
Kennedy Space Center in Florida before permitting Discovery to land.
Monday landing opportunities at Kennedy are at 8:51 a.m. and 10:26
a.m. EDT. If Discovery is unable to land Monday, additional
opportunities are available at Kennedy on Tuesday at approximately
7:33 a.m. and 9:08 a.m., and at backup landing site Edwards Air Force
Base, Calif., at approximately 9 a.m., 10:36 a.m. and 12:11 p.m. For
recorded updates about landing, call 321-867-2525.
Approximately two hours after Discovery lands, NASA officials will
hold a briefing to discuss the mission. The participants will be:
Mike Moses, space shuttle launch integration manager
Dr. Kuniaki Shiraki, executive director, Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency
Pete Nickolenko, STS-131 launch director
After touchdown, the astronauts will undergo routine physical
examinations and meet with their families. The crew will participate
in a post-landing news conference about four and a half hours after
landing. The news events will be broadcast live on NASA Television
and the agency's website.
The Kennedy news center will open for landing activities at 4:30 a.m.
Monday and remain open until 10 p.m.
The STS-131 media badges are in effect through landing. The media
accreditation building on State Road 3 will be open at 4 a.m. Monday.
The last bus will depart from the news center for the Shuttle Landing
Facility one hour before landing.
If the shuttle landing is diverted to Edwards after Monday, news media
should call the public affairs office at NASA's Dryden Flight
Research Center at 661-276-3449. Dryden has limited facilities
available for previously accredited journalists.
The NASA News Twitter feed is updated throughout the shuttle mission
and landing. To follow, visit:
http://www.twitter.com/nasa
For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming
video, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For the latest information about the STS-131 mission and
accomplishments, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
For more information about the space station and its crew, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
Source: NASA
