NASA does swift tests of shuttle damage by Delia Cruceru

On Monday NASA decided to conduct a swift series of test on the ground to determine whether the space shuttle Endeavour needs to be repaired by the astronauts. The shuttle has a deep gouge in the belly, relatively small â€" 3 1/2 inches by 2 inches, but it penetrates the protective thermal tiles. By Wednesday astronauts will be announced by the mission managers if they need to go out in the space to patch the gauge or not. John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team said: "The damage is benign enough for Endeavour to fly safely home, it's more a matter of avoiding extensive post-flight repairs to any possible structural damage." In the whole history of NASA such attempts of repair were never done before on an orbiting shuttle, and two of the three remedies are untested in space. The astronauts Rich Mastracchio and Dave Williams removed a 600-plus-pound gyroscope from the space station's exterior and replaced it with a new one. The shuttle will leave next Monday and it's set to land on August 22. Repairs were planned before for Wednesday and Friday and any repairs, if they're going to be ordered would take place on one of those two outings.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070813/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle;_ylt=AhF05ROiI5LN5LGgrCVxIC2s0NUE

by Delia Cruceru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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