Heat-shielding inspection complete

The survey of the orbiter's heat shielding is nearly complete.

Endeavour's crew is running just a few minutes behind, but both wings and the nose cap have been scanned. The work should be finished not long after 3 p.m. as the crew is now working to stow the Orbiter Boom Sensor System in its place along the side of the payload bay. Then the robot arm will be stowed for the final time this flight.

There is no indication that the inspection has identified anything problematic. We'll get a full report during the 4:30 p.m. mission status briefing, which you can watch live here as it happens.

The only heat-shield issue heading into Tuesday's landing is the thermal tile gouge caused by a piece of ricocheting foam during launch. NASA managers spent days studying the damage, running tests and discussing possible options.

They ultimately determined that the damage would not threaten the crew or spaceship during re-entry, so they opted against repairing the divot.