Astronauts Arriving At KSC In Stages For Practice Countdown

Discovery's astronauts are arriving in stages at Kennedy Space Center here today as NASA gears up for critical training exercises in advance of the planned April 5 launch of an International Space Station outfitting mission.

Flying in T-38 training jets, Discovery mission specialist Rick Mastracchio arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility at 3:45 p.m. followed at 4:10 p.m. by mission specialists Clayton Anderson and Naoko Yamazaki of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Mission commander Alan Poindexter, pilot James Dutton and mission specialists Stephanie Wilson and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger are scheduled to arrive around 6 p.m.

You can watch the arrival live here in The Flame Trench. Click the NASA TV box on the right side of the page to launch our NASA TV viewer and live coverage of the astronaut arrival.

The crew is here for a practice countdown and emergency training at launch pad 39A.

Discovery is scheduled to roll out to the pad starting at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

The 131st shuttle mission -- one of four remaining -- will deliver a cylindrical "moving van" filled with science experiments and supplies. Three planned spacewalks will install an ammonia tank assembly, replace a rate gyro assembly and bring home a Japanese science experiment positioned outside the station.

IMAGE: Attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits on Sept. 14, the STS-131 crew members took a break for a portrait in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center. From the left are Clay Anderson, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Naoko Yamazaki and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, all mission specialists; James Dutton Jr., pilot; Alan Poindexter, commander; and mission specialists Stephanie Wilson and Rick Mastracchio. Credit: NASA.