Nasa last night cleared the space shuttle Discovery for a return to Earth next week after deciding that another risky spacewalk would not be needed to sort out the last safety concern.
Some engineers had feared that a section of ruptured insulating blanket beneath the shuttle's cabin window might require repairs similar to the DIY on Wednesday when the astronaut Steve Robinson was dangled 224 miles above Earth by his boots. But after two days of wind-tunnel testing and intense debate on the ground, the space agency announced yesterday that it did not believe the blanket would pose a danger to Discovery as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere.
"I will not tell you that it is zero risk," the shuttle deputy programme manager, Wayne Hale, told reporters. "It is the lowest risk, the best choice and the unanimous decision of the engineers and the management team that we should re-enter as is."
Astronauts were told they could end their 13-day mission Monday morning as planned.
The crew enjoyed a rest day yesterday, gaining time to reflect on Robinson's work. "When Steve pulled out the gap filler ... we were cheering on the flight deck," said Commander Eileen Collins.
Joined by the International Space Station crew members Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips, the seven read a tribute to the 21 astronauts and cosmonauts killed in five US and Russian space tragedies since 1967, including the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters of 1986 and 2003.
"These are the men and women who have come before us, in courage, but who did not complete their journey of exploration," said the Discovery's pilot, Jim Kelly.