"We have a number of critical things we have to evaluate before we set an official launch schedule," program manager Wayne Hale told reporters.

"However, based on the discussion we had at the program board yesterday it appears that the May launch window is something we can begin to work on -- the launch window May 3 to May 23," Hale said.

"I asked for all elements of the program to come back and give me an evaluation in about two weeks of the work they can do to meet that schedule but before we set an official launch date," he said, adding that: "we have got to get through to some of the near term work and see how we are progressing with the external tank."

NASA decided July 28 to ground its three remaining shuttles after losing a chunk of foam from the external fuel tank of Discovery after its July 26 launch.

It was the first shuttle flight since the February 2003 Columbia tragedy, which was blamed on damage caused to the spacecraft upon blast off by debris falling from the fuel tank insulation.

The shuttle fleet, which has flown since 1981, has had two major disasters, with the 1986 Challenger explosion and 2003 in-flight breakup of the Columbia, claiming the lives of a total 14 astronauts.

Amid concerns about the aging fleet, President George W. Bush decided to end flights in 2010.

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