posted September 01, 2004 03:59 PM               

Most of the buildings at KSC were built in the 1960s to withstand winds of 110 to 115 mph. The Shuttle Orbiter Hangers were built to withstand winds of 105 mph. I know budget cuts have kept a lot of money from being spent on building up keep around the Cape for many years. I hope this doesn't come back to haunt NASA. I have heard the VAB is in pretty bad shape.

At 2 pm today, the highest winds of Hurricane Frances were in the 140 mph range.

Leon

posted September 01, 2004 10:47 PM               

It is also forecast to weaken over the Bahamas (also normal) and by the time it reaches land, the winds are expected to be reduced to 115.

posted September 02, 2004 10:34 AM               

quote:

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"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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posted September 02, 2004 07:22 PM               

Since you all already started this Frances thread.....I will take this opportunity to wish all our collectSpace friends down in that part of the world Godspeed....and hope that somehow they took the most important parts of their collections with them.

posted September 04, 2004 01:00 AM               

Please be careful with what you write! You stated that UK Airports have stopped their flights to most of the Eastern seaboard. I'm about to fly from Glasgow to Newark and then to Washington DC (was supposed to be Orlando but we cancelled due to Frances) and those airports ARE open. Please think about what you are writing before you get people all worked up over nothing. I just checked with my airport/airline and they ARE operating as normal to New York!!

posted September 05, 2004 02:48 PM            

But it looks repairable from the images.

It is to be hoped that other structures - like gantries,viewing stands,comms towers etc - on KSC and CCAF weathered the storm better .

But,more importantly than the hardware, I just hope all our space friends (and everyone down there in Florida and surrounding states) are safe and well.

posted September 05, 2004 10:38 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by FFrench:
As expected, Mitchell and Worden did not show at the autograph event this weekend due to the storms - but Guenter Wendt was there - he was leaving this afternoon and was understandably concerned at the footage he had seen of the Redstone near his Titusville home - please join me in hoping that his home is okay, along with everyone else in Florida.

FF

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posted September 05, 2004 11:04 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Scott:

Was Worden ever scheduled to be there? If he was it must have been at the last minute because he was never among the astros that I saw listed.

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You're right - my mistake - probably wishful thinking on my part, he's a great guy.

FF

posted September 06, 2004 12:20 AM               

I noticed today that all of the KSC-based websites that I tried to access were down. Has anyone else noticed this? I was mainly trying to access mission pages.

Looks like there is another lurking, called Ivan or something like that.

posted September 06, 2004 01:10 PM               

"Emergency crews are on site at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and are providing the first information on conditions there following Hurricane Frances. They report that key buildings such as the Launch Control Center and the massive, white Vehicle Assembly Building are still standing.
"The emergency crews see some exterior damage to the VAB, where Space Shuttles are readied for launch. There are a significant number of panels missing from the exterior. The Shuttles themselves rode out the storm in their hangars, known as Orbiter Processing Facilities. We do not yet have information on conditions there."

posted September 06, 2004 03:40 PM               

Hurricane Frances has battered the Kennedy Space Center's 525-ft high Vehicle Assembly Building ripping off over 1000 panels from its exterior, Center Director Jim Kennedy told reporters a short while ago. With another Hurricane possibly on course to hit Florida this weekend, the space agency is worried.

"The VAB is something of concern," Kennedy said."Not only because of the initial damage but because of the potential that Ivan brings to us. Our weather people tell us that Ivan could be at the backdoor of KSC as early as Saturday."

Ivan is a powerful hurricane packing winds of 115 miles per hour, currently located 360 miles east-southeast of Barbados.

Although power was lost to all three Orbiter Processing Facilities (OPFs), which shelter the shuttle fleet, there was no siginificant damage to the buildings other than some minor water intrusion beneath doors. Power has been restored to OPF bays 1 and 2, but not yet at bay 3, which houses Discovery, the shuttle slated for NASA's post-Columbia return to flight.

NASA's efforts to return the shuttle fleet to flight could also be impacted by extensive damage to the tile manufacturing facility at the space center.

"We believe that the roof is partially gone," Kennedy said. "There is extensive water damage within the facility."

Until repairs can be made, NASA is considering reactivating a recently closed tile manufacturing facility in Palmdale, California, according to Kennedy.

With each panel on the side of the VAB measuring 4 by 10 feet, Kennedy estimated 40,000 square feet has been exposed to the elements. The damage occured on the south and east facing side.

A portion of the grandstand roof at the space center press site has been ripped away and the roof of the news center facility has been damaged.

Kennedy Space Center employees, except those in Disaster Assessment and Recovery Teams, are not to report to work tomorrow.

posted September 06, 2004 05:44 PM               

-- Preliminary Hurricane Damage Assessement from NASA Kennedy
Space Center, SpaceRef
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=974

"NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Jim Kennedy held a
teleconference with the news media this afternoon
and provided a preliminary picture of the damage Hurricane
Frances inflicted upon the space center. The
Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) has the most visible damage.
According to Kennedy the damage can be seen
on the South and East walls of the VAB. There are some 1,000
panels that have lifted off of the building. There
are also areas of insulation and subpanels missing. Each panel
is 4x10 feet in size. The Shuttle Tile Facility
suffered significant damage. The roof is partially gone and
there is extensive water damage inside. There does
not appear to be any damage to the Space Shuttles Discovery,
Atlantis, or Endeavour."

posted September 06, 2004 07:10 PM               

At age 81 he is an incredible story teller. He had been regaling a young Doctor from Birmingham (sorry , I forgot your name) from 5:30 AM until 6:30 AM this morning.
Interesting with all the security clearance he has had, he still underwent survellance beacause of metallic Artifical Hips. He certainly looks like a real threat!

Don from Idaho, tell your machinist stories you had with Guenther.

posted September 07, 2004 12:31 AM               

First off, let me say how nice it was to meet you and your lovely fiance, Kathy. You deserve all nice things that come to you, and I know that some did this weekend. I also witnessed at least one act of remarkable generosity on your part to another friend. (That's a story that's not mine to tell.) I guess it's true that what goes around comes around, and that can be good or bad. In your case, I'm sure it's always good.

Meeting so many of our compatriots in this crazy hobby was more than half of what was great about that experience. I hope to post more about this soon, but I'm sure I will miss soooooo many things when I do, that I fear I will inadvertantly disrespect somebody by omission.

To partially answer your query, I found Guenter to be even more fascinating and wonderful than I expected. I could listen to his stories for days. On Sunday, he said some things that reminded me of my own (tool and die) apprenticeship and career from some years ago. (I've since moved on through two different careers.) I discussed some of these with Guenter, but--to tell you the truth--I just don't think I could do them justice without his wonderful German accent and animated voice and facial expressions. His passion for his work, and his life, are simply contagious.

We both had worked in similar fields, which required a meticulous approach to your work. Very occasional errors were bound to happen and had to be forgivable, but a sloppy attitude was not. The story that I related to him had to do more with me than with him, so I'll spare the readers here of that one. It did deal with a man that I used to work with--like Guenter, a German that had come here after the war--and how I learned that what some young guys had interpreted as an intolerance towards mistakes was really an intolerance towards a sloppy attitude. It's a lesson I have carried throughout my life. It's also one I think a lot of people could use.

Guenter also had a story of his machinist apprenticeship in Germany in which, while cold-chiseling some metal, he had hit himself on the thumb with a hammer and, in frustration, thrown his hammer. Unfortunately, it had gone through the window of the boss's office. ("The Master's office.") The Master had come down from the office, Guenter's hammer in hand, and wanted to know who had thrown the hammer through his window. All of the tools were numbered, and since the hammer had Guenter's number on it, he knew he was dead to rights, so he said "I did." The Master wanted to know why he had done it. Guenter pointed to his thumb and replied, "Because it hit me." The Master then said, "OK, fine. The next time you hit yourself in the thumb with your hammer, I want you to throw the hammer through my window again. But first, I want you to walk around [I don't recall the specific name of the area] three times." Guenter said that he decided that that was easy enough, so the next time he hit himself in the thumb, he calmly set the hammer down and walked around the area once, then got about halfway around it the second time, then decided that it was a pretty stupid idea to throw the hammer through the Master's window.

We had a very hearty laugh. I hope this isn't one of those where you had to be there. If so, sorry for wasting everybody's time. Also, my apologies to Guenter for the inaccuracies that are certainly in my memory of his story.

Meeting this wonderful man and having the priviledge to have this conversation with him will surely be one of the enduring treasures of this marvelous experience. I would have been proud to work with or under Guenter Wendt any day.

Anybody who hasn't purchased and read his book needs to do so, right now.

posted September 07, 2004 07:21 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by MrSpace86:
We need some pictures!! I have like this doomsday scenario in my head of a badly beaten/destroyed KSC. Help me/us! Please!

-Rodrigo

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posted September 10, 2004 09:54 AM               

http://www.boatus.com/hurricanes/hurricane_spaghetti2.asp