NASA STS-134 Update: Heat Shield Inspection Complete; Crews Speak with Pope

At 4:30 a.m. EDT, Endeavour’s crew completed a focused inspection of a damaged area on the space shuttle’s thermal protection system. The data will now be sent to Mission Control for analysis. Flight controllers expect to use this high quality imagery to clear the area for re-entry.

Sensors on the orbiter boom sensor system were used to take three integrated digital camera views and make two passes with the laser camera system to gather high fidelity imagery of the area between the right main landing gear door and the External Tank disconnect door.

At 6:11 a.m., the combined crews joined together in the Kibo module for a special call from Pope Benedict XVI. The event was conducted from The Vatican, and aired live on NASA television.