Tuesday, July 4 2006 11:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: NASA has decided to launch space shuttle Discovery Tuesday despite a latest foam problem, said a NASA official.

The Mission Management Team gave a 'go' for Tuesday's launch of Discovery to the International Space Station after analysis of available data.

"We're going to continue with the launch countdown," Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space operations, told reporters late Monday at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Asked if NASA was taking any additional risk with this decision, he said, "We're about the same risk as we were before. I don't think we're taking any additional risks."

During a routine inspection overnight after the draining of the external fuel tank, a crack was discovered in the foam near a bracket that holds the liquid oxygen feedline in place. This piece of foam has been estimated to be 0.0057 pounds.

The size of the fallen foam was less than half the size of one that could cause damage, NASA officials said. Two prior launch attempts, on Saturday and Sunday, were postponed due to storm clouds. Currently, there is a 60 percent chance of favourable launch weather Tuesday and a 40 percent chance of favourable weather Wednesday. If the weather cooperates, this will be the first Independence Day launch of a space shuttle.