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Shuttle undocks for early return Shuttle cleared for return home
(about 20 hours later)
The space shuttle Endeavour has begun its return to Earth a day early, amid fears that Hurricane Dean could threaten Mission Control in Houston. Nasa has cleared space shuttle Endeavour for its return to Earth after a two-week mission to the space station was cut short by Hurricane Dean.
Astronauts made a final inspection before undocking from the International Space Station (ISS). US space agency officials had feared that mission control in Houston would have to be evacuated if the storm lurched towards Texas.
On Saturday, the space agency shortened a spacewalk by astronauts by two hours so they could prepare to leave. But officials now think the category five hurricane "poses little hazard" to the Nasa facility.
Nasa wants to avoid any disruption to flight operations, which are supported from Johnson Space Center in Houston. Endeavour's first opportunity to land is at 1732 BST (1232 EDT) in Florida.
On Sunday, any threat from Hurricane Dean looked unlikely, but mission managers did not want to chance it. The second opportunity to touch down at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral occurs at 1906 BST (1406 EDT).
Proceed with caution The weather forecast for Tuesday at Cape Canaveral was relatively dry and any possible showers were not expected to be a concern, Nasa said.
"There is still uncertainty with a storm like this, but right now it's looking pretty good from our standpoint," said John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team. The five-man, two-woman crew was set to awake at 0936 BST 0436 EDT, leaving around four hours for final preparations before the shuttle attempts re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.
"The threat is certainly somewhat less than it was the last two days." This image of Hurricane Dean was captured from the shuttleShould landing in Florida be called off, the shuttle could try again on Wednesday. If it is unable to land at Cape Canaveral, there are two alternative landing sites: Edwards Air Force Base in California and White Sands in New Mexico.
The shuttle was docked to the ISS for nine daysOn Sunday, in preparation for Endeavour's fiery descent through the atmosphere, astronauts surveyed the wings and nose, using a laser-tipped boom to hunt for possible micrometeorite damage.
They were searching for any holes or cracks that might have occurred while the shuttle was docked to the ISS.
One of Endeavour's cockpit windows was nicked, in fact, by a micrometeorite or tiny speck of space junk during its nine days of joint flight with the space station.
Nasa expects to have all the latest laser data analysed by Monday evening.
Nasa officials had already decided that a hole in Endeavour's underside would not be repaired before the return.Nasa officials had already decided that a hole in Endeavour's underside would not be repaired before the return.
Brushing your hair is one of many challenges in orbitEngineers had been worried that the 9cm (3.5in) gash could lead to structural damage on re-entry, but extensive tests concluded it should pose no problem. Engineers had been worried that the 9cm (3.5in) gash could lead to structural damage on re-entry, but extensive tests concluded it should pose no problem.
During launch on 8 August, a chunk of insulating foam hit the shuttle, creating the square gouge.During launch on 8 August, a chunk of insulating foam hit the shuttle, creating the square gouge.
Foam damage has been a major concern for Nasa since the Columbia disaster in 2003 when a briefcase-sized chunk of foam insulation broke off during launch and pierced the shuttle's wing.Foam damage has been a major concern for Nasa since the Columbia disaster in 2003 when a briefcase-sized chunk of foam insulation broke off during launch and pierced the shuttle's wing.
This caused the shuttle to disintegrate on re-entry into the atmosphere, killing all seven crew.This caused the shuttle to disintegrate on re-entry into the atmosphere, killing all seven crew.
Endeavour's mission, scheduled for 14 days, was to continue the assembly of the ISS.Endeavour's mission, scheduled for 14 days, was to continue the assembly of the ISS.