Space Shuttle Crew Set to Return to Earth Monday

News provided by

Apr 18, 2010, 08:46 ET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., April 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO )

Monday landing opportunities at Kennedy are at 8:48 a.m. and 10:23 a.m. EDT. If Discovery is unable to land Monday, additional opportunities are available at Kennedy on Tuesday at 7:33 a.m. and 9:08 a.m., and at backup landing site Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., at 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