spacetoday.net: NASA nixes fourth spacewalk

Posted: Fri, Aug 5, 2005, 7:32 AM ET (1132 GMT)
STS-114: logo (NASA)

Shuttle officials decided Thursday that the crew of the space shuttle Discovery did not need to conduct an additional EVA to repair a damaged thermal blanket on the orbiter. Earlier in the week engineers raised concerned about minor damage to a thermal blanked near the front windows on Discovery; they were concerned that pieces could flake off and strike other portions of the shuttle during reentry. However, an analysis concluded that the blanket did not pose a risk to the shuttle, and there was no need to conduct an additional EVA to repair it. The STS-114 crew is wrapping up its stay at the station, transferring cargo into the station and taking garbage and other unneeded cargo from it. Discovery is scheduled to undock from the ISS Saturday at 3:24 am EDT (0724 GMT) and land back at the Kennedy Space Center early Monday morning.