There's no need to repair a gouge in Endeavour's belly, NASA officials decided Thursday, after examining the damage for almost a full week.
Astronauts were relieved a decision had been made and that they could again focus solely on their mission.
"Please pass along our thanks for all the hard work," Endeavour's commander, Scott Kelly, radioed back to Earth.
Mission Control replied: "It's great we finally have a decision and we can press forward."
Part of the gouged area cuts through the tiles and exposes the fabric covering that is the final skin on the shuttle's aluminum frame.
NASA was concerned the 9-centimetre by 5-centimetre gash would worsen when astronauts piloted the shuttle through Earth's atmosphere.
That could mean lengthy repairs on the ground.
"It looks like we can just leave the gouge as it is, basically because it's not in a critical area," said Steve MacLean, chief astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency.
NASA on Thursday ran one final test and double-checked data to determine whether it would be necessary to repair the gash.
The decision to leave the damage alone was made unanimously by NASA managers.
Crew members had spent Thursday morning going over repair plans in case NASA ordered the work.
During Wednesday's spacewalk, a much smaller gouge forced the end of astronaut Rick Mastracchio's spacewalk, when his glove developed a small rip.
Steve MacLean, chief astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency, said a small tear can be a big deal in space.
"It turns out that the cut or the tear was just in that first silicone layer," MacLean told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday.
"That's the layer we use to grip. But you can't tell that when you're outside. If you do get a hole in your glove, it's not a good day."
MacLean did a spacewalk last September, on the Atlantis mission, and knows the drill well.
He said every move is calculated in space, and astronauts are constantly vigilant about maintaining the integrity of their suits.
"Every time you start a task you kind of scan your gloves to see if there's a tear because you know how serious that is, and during the task you try to make sure you don't do anything that would cause a tear, plus your eyes are peeled for sharp edges."
MacLean said Mastracchio noticed the tear in his glove within moments of it happening, proving he was paying close attention to the condition of his gear.
John Shannon, the mission management team's chairman said the tear in Mastracchio's glove was an anomaly and wouldn't hinder further spacewalks.
"If we decided we needed to go do this, I would feel very comfortable doing it. We've done a lot of spacewalks without any glove problems," said Shannon.
