Table of Contents

STS-131

Find out in 5: Space Shuttle Mission STS-131

Shuttle:	Discovery
Launch:	April 5, 2010 at 6:21 a.m. Eastern
Duration:	14 days with 3 spacewalks
Crew:	Commander Alan Poindexter, Pilot Jim Dutton, and Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio, Clay Anderson, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Naoko Yamazaki (Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency)
Mission:	Deliver the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with science racks to the International Space Station (ISS) and install an ammonia tank assembly outside the ISS.

Canadian Connections

Science

Do our blood vessels age faster in space? A new experiment called VASCULAR is studying the cardiovascular health of astronauts on the ISS to help ageing Earthlings.

BISE continues into April 2010. Watch a podcast about BISE with CSA Astronaut Bob Thirsk.

Tech

Neptec Design Group's TriDAR technology will undergo further testing on board the Space Shuttle Discovery after a first flight in August 2009. With funding from the CSA and support from NASA, TriDAR can be used to autonomously dock spacecraft safely and efficiently.

Watch the video See how Canadarm2 will hand the inspection boom to the Shuttle's Canadarm; it will use the boom to scan the Shuttle's underbelly to ensure that Discovery is ship-shape after launch. Afterwards, Canadarm2 will hoist the Leonardo module out of the Shuttle's payload bay and dock it on the Station, and install the ammonia tank in a temporary location. (Animation credit: CSA)

Watch the video Canadarm2 will swap the old ammonia tank for the new one in a series of complex manoeuvres. (Animation credit: CSA)

Watch the video Towards the end of the video, Canadarm2 places the Leonardo module in the Shuttle's payload bay for its return to Earth. (Animation credit: CSA)