spacetoday.net: Inspections find no shuttle damage

Posted: Wed, Sep 20, 2006, 12:38 PM ET (1638 GMT)

An additional round of inspections of the exterior of the shuttle Atlantis Wednesday turned up no evidence of damage to the orbiter, apparently clearing the way for a Thursday morning landing. The STS-115 crew spent much of Wednesday surveying the exterior of Atlantis a day after cameras on the shuttle identified two small objects that apparently floated away from the orbiter, raising fears that an object struck and damaged critical tiles or panels. Cameras found three additional objects floating away from the orbiter on Wednesday, but officials did not believe these were critical items. If managers decide to press ahead with landing, Atlantis will return to Earth on Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center, landing at either 6:21 or 7:57 am EDT (1021 or 1157 GMT). Weather conditions are forecast to be favorable for a landing attempt either Thursday or Friday.