KSC-2009-6716

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians prepare to lift space shuttle Discovery's Forward Reaction Control System, or FRCS, from its transporter. The FRCS is being reinstalled in the forward fuselage nose area of the shuttle after refurbishment. The FRCS provides the thrust for attitude (rotational) maneuvers (pitch, yaw and roll) and for small velocity changes along the orbiter axis (translation maneuvers). Discovery is being prepared for the STS-131 mission, the 33rd flight to the International Space Station. The seven-member STS-131 crew will deliver a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with resupply stowage platforms and racks to be transferred to locations around the station. Three spacewalks will include work to attach a spare ammonia tank assembly to the station's exterior and return a European experiment from outside the station's Columbus module. Discovery's launch is targeted for March 18, 2010. For information on the STS-131 mission and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts131/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller