Kennedy Space Center will resume normal operations Saturday, Sept. 16. Full water service is now available and the center has received an all clear following several days of closure related to Hurricane Irma.
Additional information for employees is available at http://kscsos.com.
Kennedy Space Center will remain closed on Thursday, Sept. 14, as the center’s damage assessment and recovery team continues to survey the impacts of Hurricane Irma.
The center currently is without potable water service, which is used for drinking, food preparation and cleaning. The center and surrounding community remain under a boil water restriction. The center’s chillers rely on industrial water and are unaffected by the water restriction. The center will re-open following restoration of full water service.
Facilities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida sustained a variety of damage as powerful Hurricane Irma churned past the spaceport Sunday, Sept. 10.
Center Director Bob Cabana joined the center’s Damage Assessment and Recovery Team for a survey of the spaceport Tuesday. A damage assessment report will be compiled over the next several weeks after a full inspection of the center has been conducted.
The Kennedy Space Center will remain closed Wednesday, Sept. 13, as the DART continues its efforts to assess and mitigate any issues it finds in order to open and fully resume operations at the Kennedy Space Center.
The center currently is without water service.
Visit http://images.nasa.gov for photos taken during the damage assessment and recovery process.
Hurricane Matthew is passing Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center at this time with sustained winds of 90 mph with gusts to 107 mph. There are no reports of significant damage so far, mostly power outages around different parts of the space center. The storm is expected to have passed the space center by 10:30 a.m. Tropical storm force winds are expected to continue until about 9:30 tonight. The storm is passing the space center about 26 miles off the tip of Cape Canaveral. Rainfall totals for the hurricane by the end of the storm are forecast to be 8-12 inches. Storm surge models are somewhat lower than originally forecast, now from 1-5 feet in various locations.
The hurricane ride-out crew at Kennedy Space Center team is beginning its report to stations to prepare for Hurricane Matthew. The number of ride out crew members has been adjusted slightly to 116. All facilities at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station have been secured. The most recent weather briefing shows tropical storm force winds beginning at Cape Canaveral tonight at midnight with hurricane force winds starting at starting about 6 a.m. The wind is expected to decline at approximately 4 p.m Friday and fall below tropical storm force early Saturday morning. Under the current storm track, peak winds are forecast to be 125 mph sustained with gusts to 150 mph, however a shift in the track even slightly could improve the wind forecast somewhat.
The Kennedy Space Center is closed today, Oct. 6, and Friday for Hurricane Matthew. Kennedy Space Center is now in HurrCon 1 status, meaning a hurricane is imminent. Hurricane preparations at Kennedy were completed early last night, and remaining employees were then sent home. A final check is being made this morning around the space center for any potential loose debris. The hurricane ride-out team will report for duty at 3 p.m. today in the major buildings and facilities at KSC. During the storm they will report any significant events to the Emergency Operations Center, located in the Launch Control Center at Complex 39. They can also take any action needed to stabilize the situation and keep the facility secure. There will be 139 people on the ride-out team at locations around KSC. After the hurricane has passed and winds have dropped below 50 knots (approximately 58 mph), damage around the space center will be assessed and the Damage Assessment and Recovery Team will then report for duty. Tropical storm force winds are expected at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral late this evening followed by hurricane force winds early Friday morning.
