Space shuttle Endeavour's astronauts inspected their ship Wednesday to make sure it's safe for landing in two more days, AP reported. The survey of the wings and nose, which took almost all morning, is standard before a shuttle returns to Earth. Endeavour is due back Friday, following its successful construction mission at the international space station. NASA wants to make sure Endeavour's heat shield was not pierced by micrometeorites or space junk during its two weeks in orbit. Engineers will spend the next day analyzing all the images that were beamed down. The astronauts used a laser-tipped boom to check for damage. It's the same tool used to check for launch damage early in the flight; nothing serious was detected back then despite an unusual loss of insulating foam from the fuel tank. NASA added all these extra safety checks when shuttle flights resumed two years after the 2003 Columbia disaster. A hole in Columbia's left wing, caused by flying foam, led to its destruction during re-entry. Wednesday's job wrapped up work, once and for all, with the shuttle's robot arm, which held the inspection boom and all the laser and camera sensors. «It's been a long one,» shuttle commander Mark Polansky said, referring to the 16-day mission. «I think we're happy to be done.» Endeavour and its crew of seven left the space station Tuesday after delivering and installing fresh batteries, big spare parts and a porch for Japan's science lab to hold outdoor experiments. Five spacewalks were carried out.
