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NASA engineers want to more closely examine the shuttle's landing gear doors and wheels for cracks.

The Return to Flight may be delayed again, as NASA prudently decides to conduct further examinations of the shuttle Discovery. On its sister ship, Atlantis, tiny cracks were discovered on a landing gear door mechanism.

NASA will examine Discovery on the launch pad rather than move the ship back to the Vehicle Administration Building. This gives engineers and workers better access to the area in question.

It is expected the examination and any problems found will be correctable and will not hinder shuttle Discovery's potential launch window beginning July 13. After the inspection has been completed on the launch pad, the shuttle would then be moved back to the VAB for additional safety modifications.

At this time, NASA has scheduled a move back to the VAB for May 26th. Once inside, the shuttle will be separated from the external tank.

NASA plans to place Discovery on a new external tank and solid rocket boosters on June 7th. The new tank was originally going to fly with Atlantis on its next mission, but will go up with Discovery instead.

Once Discovery has been connected to the external tank and booster, it should be rolled back out to the launch pad in mid-June. In mid to late July, Mission Commander Eileen Collins and her crew should be given clearance to proceed with mission STS-114.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.