NASA nears decision on shuttle repairs

NASA managers remained "cautiously optimistic" that a deep gouge in the shuttle Endeavour's belly would not require repairs by spacewalking astronauts but wanted to run one last test and double-check their data yesterday before making a decision.

Officials also were studying a rip in astronaut Rick Mastracchio's glove that brought Wednesday's spacewalk to an early end, and they were loathe to authorize another one until they knew more. But they said those concerns wouldn't stand in the way of crucial repairs.

"If we decided we needed to go do this, I would feel very comfortable doing it. We've done a lot of spacewalks without any glove problems," said John Shannon, the mission management team's chairman.