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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA conducted a swift series of tests on the ground Monday to determine whether spacewalking astronauts need to fix a deep gouge in Endeavour's belly for re-entry, and assembled a special team to weigh the repair options.

The gouge is relatively small - 31/2 inches by 2 inches - but part of it penetrates through the protective thermal tiles, leaving just a thin layer of coated felt over the space shuttle's aluminum frame to keep out the more than 2,000-degree heat of re-entry.

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Caught On Filmdeathstoday in Historybirthdaysgroup Sets Tour

The exposed area is 1 inch long and less than a quarter-inch wide.

Mission managers expect to decide by Wednesday whether astronauts should go out and patch the gouge. The damage is benign enough for Endeavour to fly safely home. It is more a matter of avoiding extensive post-flight repairs to any possible structural damage, said John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team.

"This is not a catastrophic loss of orbiter case at all. This is a case where you want to do the prudent thing...

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