The shuttle Discovery's heat shield was cleared for re-entry "as is" Wednesday by NASA's Mission Management Team based on a detailed analysis of launch imagery, laser scans conducted by the astronauts the day after launch and a close-up inspection of the shuttle's belly during final approach to the space station.

Credit: NASA

"The Damage Assessment Team provided their final summary to the team and declared that the TPS (thermal protection system) is acceptable for entry," the MMT said in a summary of Wednesday's meeting.

Minor damage was noted near a so-called "protuberance tile" used to trigger turbulent flow during re-entry as part of a test to collect data on a phenomenon known as the boundary layer transition. But the MMT concluded "there will not be any adverse interaction between the damaged tile and the DTO (developmental test objective)."

Likewise, a protruding plug in an insulation blanket on one of Discovery's aft rocket pods is not considered any sort of threat.

A final inspection of the shuttle's reinforced carbon carbon nose cap and wing leading edge panels will be carried out after undocking from the space station to look for any signs of micrometeoroid impact damage that might have occurred since an idential inspection the day after launch.

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