Gash in shuttle might not need repairs, NASA says

0 Comments | USA TODAY, August, 2007 | by Traci Watson

Preliminary new data make NASA managers "cautiously optimistic" that a deep gash in space shuttle Endeavour's heat shield will not need to be repaired, deputy shuttle program manager John Shannon said Tuesday.

A computer analysis showed that in spite of the gash, the shuttle's aluminum skin would stay 25 degrees below NASA's risk limit of 350 degrees during the shuttle's dive through the Earth's atmosphere, Shannon said. He cautioned that the analysis is preliminary and must be confirmed by running damaged tile through a furnace.

Shannon said Monday that the damage poses no threat to the crew but could result in structural damage to the spacecraft.

Managers will decide late today whether to send astronauts on an unplanned spacewalk to repair the...