NASA's Newest Foe: Hurricane Frances

[salvorhardin]

NASA's Newest Foe: Hurricane Frances
By Irene Mona Klotz

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With the three remaining space shuttles, the dozens of unique space station components and modules and billions of dollars worth of launch facilities and assembly hangars, the Kennedy Space Center sits uncomfortably close to the predicted path for Hurricane Frances, a Category Four storm barreling toward Florida's east coast.

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Typically during hurricanes and tropical storms, NASA assigns about 140 people to remain onsite at the space center to keep watch over the equipment and respond to any emergencies. This time, however, NASA is considering leaving only about 12 people in an emergency operations center with limited ability to command and control equipment.

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Many of the structures at KSC are unique, such as the launch pad Rotating Service Structure, which wraps around a shuttle at the pad to protect the orbiter and provide access into the vehicle. The launch pads are designed to withstand 125 mph winds.

"If there were serious damage to one or two of the orbiters or the facilities needed to process and launch the orbiters, I think it would raise a very large question about the continuation of the shuttle program," Logsdon said.

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My take: Way to go George. Just like No Child Left Behind and the Clean Air Initiative, your brave new world space initiative was nothing more but talk and then do the opposite. 12 people to protect billions of dollars of equipment? If these orbiters were ever lost I doubt they could ever be replaced. The money would never be appropriated again and even if it was, most of the engineers who designed and built the orbiters are either retired or dead. I wouldn't be surprised that if, like the Apollo program, many of the plans have been lost.

Note: The orbiters are currently unable to be moved as they are undergoing safety upgrades mandated after the Columbia breakup.

Note: Not sure if this is LBN or not. Not exactly latest or breaking, but I haven't seen it mentioned here yet.

[LastDemocratInSC]

1. I don't think it's as bad as it sounds

With Frances coming ashore south of Canaveral, and with the winds at the Cape forecast to not exceed 45 mph, I think everything will be alright.

The Orbiter Processing Facility, which houses at least 2 of the shuttles, is designed to withstand 80 mph sustained winds. I think that one of the shuttles is in the Vehicle Assembly Building, which can withstand even stronger winds.

The shuttles are mounted in a crane-like frame while being worked on. A day or so ago the landing gear on the shuttles were retracted so they're just hanging in their frames right now. The payload bay doors were closed just in case there are roof leaks. Sandbags have been installed around the wall-bases of the OPF to protect against wind-blown water leaks.

I think that a direct hit of a hurricane's eyewall at the Cape would certainly do some damage to the launch pads and buildings and possibly the shuttles as well but this has - so far - never happened.