NASA eyes hurricane, may bring shuttle back early

HOUSTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) NASA kept a close eye on Hurricane Dean as it churned through the Caribbean Sea and said it may cut short space shuttle Endeavour's flight if the storm threatens Mission Control in Houston.

The US space agency said yesterday it would shorten a planned six-hour spacewalk on Saturday, and look for other ways to get ready for a Tuesday landing instead of the currently scheduled Wednesday.

''We'd really like to protect an option to be able to end the mission on Tuesday,'' mission management team chairman Leroy Cain said.

Dean had 216 kph winds yesterday and was expected to strengthen as it plowed through the Caribbean.

Forecasts called for it to enter the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, potentially menacing the Texas coast.

Bringing Endeavour back early could enable NASA to complete the flight before Mission Control, located at Johnson Space Center in Houston, would have to be evacuated.

The shuttle is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which is not forecast to be affected by the storm.

If necessary, NASA officials said, Mission Control's functions could be moved to Kennedy.

Cain did not say when NASA would make a final decision on Endeavour's schedule, but flight communicator Shane Kimbrough at Mission Control told the shuttle crew a plan for an early landing was in the works.

''The way we're going to get there is give up some (cargo) transfer activity tomorrow and possibly shorten'' what will be the fourth spacewalk of the mission, Kimbrough said.

''This will allow us to close the hatches tomorrow night and then we'll undock on Sunday and land on Tuesday.'' Earlier in the day, the shuttle crew had a news conference from space in which commander Scott Kelly said they supported NASA's decision on Thursday not to repair a gash in Endeavour's belly tiles.

The tiles protect the ship from the intense temperatures experienced during re-entry before landing.

''We agree absolutely 100 per cent with the decision to not repair the damage,'' Kelly told reporters.

''Even though a repair could potentially buy a little more (safety) margin, there is certainly more risk in doing the repair than we're willing to take. We could potentially cause more damage to the underside of the orbiter.'' The 9-cm gouge was caused by a piece of foam and possibly ice that fell off the shuttle's fuel tank and smashed into the Endeavour's underside during its liftoff on August 8 from the Kennedy Space Center.

NASA studied the damage for six days before making its decision that Endeavour could land safely without repair.

The shuttle arrived at the International Space Station on August 10 to deliver new components and prepare the outpost for the arrival of new modules later this year.

Reuters SZ VP0740