Endeavour commander endorses "no repair"

At a 1:34 p.m EDT press conference, Endeavour Commander Scott Kelly said he endorses NASA's decision not to repair a 3-inch divot in tiles on the shuttle's underbelly.

"I agree absolutely 100 percent with the decision not to repair," said Kelly.

Tests show the aluminum below the damage will reach only 340 degrees, hundreds of degrees below the melting point of aluminum. Spacewalkers would have difficulty reaching the divot and could damage the tiles further.

"Even though making the repair could provide a little more margin, there is certainly more risk to doing the repair than we're willing to take," said Kelly. "We're concerned that if we did the repair we could potentially cause more damage to the underside of the orbiter."

For several days, engineers studied the damage with computer models and testing in an arc-jet. The study delayed today's spacewalk until Friday.

"I for one am happy they took as long as they did," said Kelly, who is on his second trip on the shuttle. "I think it was absolutely the right decision."

"We've had shuttles land with worse damage than this," said Kelly. "There will be no extra concern in my mind."

Pilot Charlie Hobaugh seconded Kelly's endorsement.

"John Young (a legendary astronaut) used to sit in our Monday meetings and talk about all the tiles that fell off STS-1," said Hobaugh.

During the press conference, Canadian astronaut/physician Dr. Dave Williams said the Earth's environmental problems are visible from space.

"You can definitely see water pollution," said Williams. "You can definitely see fires burning. You can see dark colored snow around industrialized cities.

"The planet is a very small place, and all of use need to develop a sense of planetary stewardship."