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Nasa says no repairs for Endeavour
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SCI-TECH
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By Agencies
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![Endeavour sustained a damaged tile on its heat shield during lift-off [AP]](http://mwcnews.net/images/stories/Sci-Tech2/5/Endeavour-sustained.jpg "Endeavour sustained a damaged tile on its heat shield during lift-off [AP]") | | Endeavour sustained a damaged tile on its heat shield during lift-off [AP] |
US space agency Nasa has decided that no repairs are necessary for the shuttle Endeavour which was damaged by flying debris during take-off last week.
After a week of studying the problem, mission managers decided on Thursday that the deep gash in the heat shield – less than 8cm long – did not pose a threat to the shuttle and its crew.
They also said it was unlikely to cause further damage to Endeavour during its fiery re-entry into Earth's atmosphere next week.
Astronaut Shane Kimbrough radioed the shuttle crew saying that Nasa managers had "made a decision to fly the [heat shield] as is" and there was no need for a spacewalk.
A repair job would have required two spacewalking astronauts to fill the cut with a heat-resistant filler that hardens like caulk, a manoeuvre which has its own risks. During lift-off on August 8, insulating foam and possibly ice from the shuttle's fuel tank struck its underside, piercing all the way through the heat-resistant tile.
Endeavour docked at the International Space Station on August 10 where astronauts installed a new beam on its structural backbone.
The shuttle is due to return to Earth on Wednesday.
Nasa has been cautious about heat shield damage since the shuttle Columbia exploded shortly before landing in 2003, killing all seven astronauts on board.
The accident was blamed on damage to the wing heat shield caused by flying tank foam during launch that had gone undetected.
Nasa will be retiring the remaining three shuttles in 2010 after construction at the International Space Station is completed.
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