http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2...-decision.html
No repairs needed for Endeavour, NASA concludes
Last Updated: Thursday, August 16, 2007 | 11:24 AM ET
CBC News
Space shuttle Endeavour is safe to fly home as is, NASA concluded Thursday, deciding that a patch-up job to fix a deep gouge in the ship's underbelly was unnecessary.
Canadian astronaut Dave Williams, pictured during Monday's spacewalk, will not have to perform the repairs that were being considered by NASA.Canadian astronaut Dave Williams, pictured during Monday's spacewalk, will not have to perform the repairs that were being considered by NASA.
(NASA/Associated Press)
The decision from Mission Control put an end to a week of anxious uncertainty and analysis of the gash. In the end, space officials on Earth opted not to send the astronauts out for the risky spacewalk repair, reasoning the damage was not serious enough to warrant a fix.
Earlier on Thursday, astronauts were running through drills in the event they would have to perform the never-before-attempted repairs.
As the seven Endeavour crewmates, including Canadian astronaut Dave Williams, were about to retire for sleep, Mission Control radioed the news to them. After conducting one final thermal test, mission managers decided that even with the gouge the shuttle would not suffer any serious structural damage during next week's re-entry to Earth.
"Please pass along our thanks for all the hard work," Endeavour's commander, Scott Kelly, radioed.
Mission Control replied, "It's great, we finally have a decision and we can press forward."
The unevenly shaped gouge, discovered on Sunday using the Canadian-made robotic arm Canadarm, showed the damage went through the 2.5-centimetre-thick tiles, exposing the felt material sandwiched between the tiles and the shuttle's aluminum frame.
The Saskatoon-born and Montreal-raised Williams, as well as U.S. astronaut Rick Mastracchio were in line to do the possible repairs during a fourth spacewalk.
On Wednesday, Mastracchio's spacewalk was cut short after he discovered a rip in his left glove. NASA officials said Mastracchio's early return was not prompted by any danger.
Mastracchio has participated in all three spacewalks during this mission. His earlier trips, accompanied by Williams, involved replacing a faulty gyroscope and installing a new beam on the station.
Crew members were scheduled to transfer cargo and speak with reporters on Thursday before getting the afternoon off.
Endeavour's ISS mission is focused on adding some key components to the station's exterior in preparation for the later addition of another solar array to help power the station.
With files from the Associated Press
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Originally Posted by lbaker
Watching the approach to landing from
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