Shuttle set to return from storm-shortened flight

HOUSTON,, Aug 21 (Reuters) NASA completed a last safety check on Monday and deemed space shuttle Endeavour safe to come back early from a mission cut short by Hurricane Dean.

The shuttle has a gash in its belly heat shield, but flight managers affirmed that Endeavour would survive its fiery descent through the atmosphere today.

''We can say with a high degree of confidence Endeavour is safe to come home without needing a repair. That does not mean we're entirely happy with the situation,'' NASA space shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The 3-inch (7.6-cm) gouge was caused by insulation foam that flew off the fuel tank and struck the shuttle at launch, a repeat of a problem NASA has struggled to fix since the 2003 Columbia disaster.

Hale said tank modifications would be made, which could delay future flights and slow NASA's plans to finish the International Space Station before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010.

Endeavour was scheduled to land tomorrow, but NASA ordered it back a day early because of fears Hurricane Dean could disrupt operations at Mission Control at Johnson.

The storm, with nearly 250-kph sustained winds, was nearing Mexico yesterday and not expected to threaten Texas, but the space agency was taking no chances with the weather.

PREPARING FOR LANDING Forecasts at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, from which Endeavour took off on August 8, looked good for today's scheduled touchdown at 12:32 pm EDT (2202 IST), NASA said.

The astronauts stowed gear and checked the ship's flight systems yesterday. Commander Scott Kelly and pilot Charles Hobaugh practiced landing on a computerized flight simulator.

NASA, after six days of study, decided on Thursday the heat shield gash did not need repair, but waited for the third safety inspection of the flight yesterday to clear Endeavour for landing. Astronauts used a laser-tipped robot arm to scan the shuttle for damage.

In-flight inspections began after Columbia disintegrated shortly before landing in 2003 because of a wing heat shield hole that went undetected. That breach was caused by loose tank foam that struck at launch.

Endeavour arrived on August 10 at the space station, where astronauts, in the first of four spacewalks, installed a two-tonne metal beam on the 100 billion dollars outpost.

Space station program manager Mike Suffredini said the addition brought the station to about 60 per cent completion.

Astronauts are scheduled to install a connecting hub during NASA's next shuttle mission scheduled for October. In December, a European laboratory is set to be flown to the station.

Endeavour's crew includes astronaut Barbara Morgan, a former teacher who originally trained to fly in 1985 as the backup to Christa McAuliffe, a teacher who flew on the ill-fated Challenger mission in January 1986.

Reuters CS VP0545