TWO astronauts began a spacewalk yesterday to replace equipment on the international space station as NASA experts calculated whether the shuttle Endeavour’s crew would need to repair a gouge on the ship’s belly.

Two astronauts began a spacewalk today to replace equipment on the international space station as Nasa experts calculated whether the shuttle Endeavour’s crew would need to repair a gouge on the ship’s belly.

Nasa is urgently calculating whether risky spacewalk repairs are needed today, after a close-up inspection revealed that a three and a half inch-long gouge penetrated the thermal shielding on the shuttle’s belly.

Nasa discovered a worrisome gouge on Endeavour’s belly soon after the shuttle docked with the international space station, possibly caused by ice that broke off the fuel tank a minute after lift-off.

Space shuttle Endeavour docked with the international space station today after making a giant backflip so astronauts on the outpost could check for damage.

NASA engineers will today try to determine whether the space shuttle Endeavour was damaged when foam insulation broke off the fuel tank, as it manoeuvres toward the international space station.

With good weather predicted for launch time, Nasa started fuelling the US space shuttle Endeavour in preparation for its evening lift-off in Florida.

When former US schoolteacher Barbara Morgan leaves Earth on a space shuttle next week, she hopes her students back in Idaho learn a lesson from her 22-year wait to get into orbit: perseverance and patience.