STS-131 Launch

STS131-S-059 (5 April 2010) --- Drifting smoke plumes from the launch of space shuttle Discovery (out of frame) swirl above the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discovery and its seven-member STS-131 crew head toward Earth-orbit and a scheduled link-up with the International Space Station. Liftoff from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A occurred at 6:21 a.m. (EDT) on April 5, 2010. 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 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.