HURRICANE FLOYD RECOVERY STATUS

Kennedy Space Center employees returned to work today after Hurricane Floyd. The Space Shuttle vehicles were unaffected and there was no damage to any flight hardware. This includes International Space Station elements, the SRTM payload, and the Hubble Space Telescope components.

The highest wind was 91 mph from the NNW at 4:50 a.m. on Wednesday. This was recorded at a weather tower located between Pad 39-A and Launch Complex 41. The maximum sustained wind was 66 mph. The highest amount of rain recorded at KSC was 2.82 inches. The eye of Hurricane Floyd passed 121 statute miles east of Cape Canaveral at 4 a.m.

Most damage from the storm is institutional in nature. Numerous signs are blown over, some trees are felled and two traffic lights are fully down. Some VAB siding panels are blown off of the east and west sides of the building, however there was no structural damage. There is minor damage at Pad 39-B from damage to the weather protection that encloses the primary pad electrical system. Blowing rain caused some water intrusion underneath hangar doors at the OPF high bays, the doors of the adjacent main engine maintenance facility, and also the north door of the VAB transfer aisle. Various antenna systems around KSC received light to moderate damage, all of which is repairable.

East of the Shuttle launch pads, the dunes protected the highway and the NASA Railroad which parallels the shoreline. There is one washout of track where the dune was lost between Pads A and B.

There is wind damage to trailers and to some modular buildings. In one instance, an air conditioning unit was blown off the roof. Some guard sentry posts are blown over. There are a few missing doors or windows in various builidings, however, leakage is the most common problem. Since the operational areas have been the leading priority for a return to work, some administrative areas were without power or telephones until late this morning.

Power was maintained to chiller equipment and air handling systems at the Space Station Processing Facility and other payload facilities except for brief outages. These were restored within five to ten minutes in each case, and the temperature and humidity standards for all the payloads were maintained.

The number of personnel who were determined necessary for the final hurricane rideout crew and who remained at KSC during the storm was 105.

Information about the countdown and mission can be accessed electronically via the Internet at: http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/ and at http://shuttle.nasa.gov/