One last inspection of Discovery’s heat shield

STS-131 Status Report #23

HOUSTON

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.

Yesterday’s delay in removing Leonardo from its berthing on the International Space Station’s Harmony module resulted in a later-than-planned bedtime and a delayed wake-up for the combined shuttle and station crews.

The crew was awakened at 12:21 a.m. with the “Theme from Stargate” played for Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio who is wrapping up his third spaceflight.

After a seven-hour delay caused by a balky set of bolt controllers, the crew maneuvered Leonardo into a “low hover” position above Discovery’s payload bay for the night Thursday. Using the station’s robotic arm, Mission Specialists Stephanie Wilson and Naoko Yamazaki will lower Leonardo into the payload bay at 2:26 a.m. CDT. That task is expected to take about an hour.

Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. and Mission Specialists Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger and Wilson will then use the shuttle’s robotic arm and orbiter boom sensor system to begin inspection of the shuttle’s heat shield.

Discovery is scheduled to undock from the station on Saturday at 7:52 a.m.