Weather forecasts indicate some NASA centers and
facilities could feel Ivan’s terrible wrath.
Preparations are under way to secure important space flight
hardware. NASA’s Stennis Space Center (SSC), Miss., and the
Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, are getting ready to
ride out the storm. Other NASA installations, from Johnson
Space Center, Houston, to Kennedy Space Center, Fla., are
keeping a wary eye on Ivan’s track.
“We really saw our readiness for Hurricanes Charley and
Frances pay off,” said William Readdy, NASA’s associate
administrator for space operations. “KSC was in the path of
those two strong storms, and while some of our buildings were
damaged, we made sure our workforce was safe and had no
injuries. We were also able to protect our three Space
Shuttles, our International Space Station components, and
other key hardware. Ivan looks like it may be an even more
powerful storm, so it’s important that we do everything we
can to prepare our people and our facilities,” he said.
At SSC, where Space Shuttle engines are tested before flight,
workers were sent home this afternoon to prepare for the
storm with their families. A team of essential personnel
plans to ride out the storm. Two flight-qualified Space
Shuttle Main Engines at were secured; one was put back into
its container, and the other was wrapped in plastic. Two
developmental engines were enclosed on their test stands and
protected.
A ride-out team will remain in place through the storm at
Michoud, across the Mississippi-Louisiana border from SSC.
Lockheed Martin and NASA workers were dismissed this morning
to make preparations at home. The large Space Shuttle
external fuel tanks manufactured and assembled at Michoud, a
NASA facility operated by Lockheed-Martin, have been secured.
Equipment was moved indoors, facilities sandbagged, and
important materials, such as insulating foam and adhesive,
loaded onto trucks for transportation out of the area, if
necessary.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located well
inland in Huntsville, Ala., is also taking precautions and
making preparations for possible tornados or other effects
from Ivan.
The International Space Station (ISS) crew is also keeping
watch over the storm. Video and still images from the Station
are feeding on NASA TV. They will be updated as new footage
becomes available. Images are also available on NASA’s Web
site.
NASA TV is available on the Web and via satellite, in the
continental U.S., on AMC-6, Transponder 9C, C-Band, located
at 72 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz.
Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz.
In Alaska and Hawaii, NASA TV is available on AMC-7,
Transponder 18C, C-Band, located at 137 degrees west
longitude. Frequency is 4060.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical,
and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. More information is
available at:
Employees at any of NASA’s facilities in Ivan’s path can also
use the NASA Web site to get status updates and information
about reporting to work. That information is available at:
