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Endeavour Heat Shield OK

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Department: 
The Space Shuttle
Teaser: 

"NASA on Saturday cleared the shuttle Endeavour's heat shield of any concerns after one last check of a gouge on its belly."

Link: 

NASA Clears Shuttle Endeavour Heat Shield of Concerns

Source: 

SPACE.com Download time: May 22 2011 9:41 AM ET

Space shuttle Endeavour's heat shield has been deemed safe for the ship's last landing thanks to imagery taken by its astronauts and sent down for study on Saturday.

"We're essentially clearing the vehicle for reentry at this point," said NASA's shuttle mission management team chair, LeRoy Cain.

Earlier this week, engineers and mission managers were able to clear six of seven areas of minor damage they had found dotting the right-side of Endeavour's tile-covered underbelly. The damage was likely caused by debris, such as ice and insulating foam, that fell from the shuttle's external fuel tank during its launch May 16.…

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