WASHINGTON, June 8 (Xinhuanet) -- US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is nearing readiness for space shuttle launch in July with still three recommendations to complete for the first shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster in 2003.

    Reports reaching here said the task force overseeing NASA's work to improve flight safety hoped the US space agency would meetthe remaining recommendations in time. The task force completed review of five recommendations in Houston on Wednesday.

    NASA is required to complete 15 recommendations for returning the shuttle to sky. A key outstanding issue NASA has yet to resolve is to develop techniques to repair "the widest possible range of damage" in space. However, task force member James Adamson said this issue will not block the shuttle launch, which is set between July 13 and July 31.

    The task force said Wednesday NASA must eliminate all sources of potential debris from the external fuel tank and finish hardening the shuttle's exterior.

    The external fuel tank has undergone many design changes after the Columbia tragedy in February 2003, in which all seven astronauts aboard were killed. The tragedy was blamed on a suitcase-sized insulation foam that fell off the tank during liftoff and harmed the shuttle's left wing, leading to the shuttle's disintegration during re-entry. Enditem