WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- NASA decided on Thursday it will not order Discovery's crew to conduct an unplanned spacewalk to repair a torn thermal blanket near Discovery commander's window.

    Mission control at the space center in Houston informed shuttle crew of the decision, saying the shuttle will be safe for re-entry with the torn blanket, the AP news agency reported.

    The spacewalk, if ordered, would be a fourth in Discovery's 13-day mission. During the third spacewalk Wednesday, a shuttle spacewalker went underneath Discovery and completed a historic repair to gap fillers of heat protective tiles in two spots on the shuttle's belly.

    After days of analysis of the information from pictures taken by on-orbit astronauts, NASA engineers apparently believe the damaged thermal blanket, possibly torn by debris during liftoff on July 26, poses no threat to the shuttle during re-entry. They previously feared the problem could lead to something similar to the 2003 Columbia disaster.

    The CNN reported NASA will hold a press conference at 3.00 p.m.EDT on the decision. Enditem