Frances Damages NASA Space Center
By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Hurricane Frances did more damage to the Kennedy Space Center than any other storm in history, tearing an estimated 1,000 exterior panels from a giant building where spaceships are assembled, officials said Monday.
No space shuttles were inside the 525-foot-high building, a familiar landmark at the space center. But center director James Kennedy said he feared the damage could set back NASA (news - web sites)'s effort to resume shuttle launches next spring.
Monday marked the first time anyone from NASA had seen the damage from the storm because the agency completely evacuated the space center — the first time NASA made such a move.
The holes left by the missing panels created 40,000 square feet of "open window" on two sides of the building, Kennedy said. Each aluminum panel measures 4 feet by 10 feet.
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Monday's preliminary look indicates that the shuttle hangars and the spaceships themselves, grounded since last year's Columbia disaster, were not damaged at all, Kennedy said. Neither was the building that houses all the international space station parts awaiting launch.
Workers had yet to inspect the two shuttle launch pads, located right on the beach.
But in a potential blow to NASA's return-to-flight effort, part of the roof came off the building where the shuttles' thermal tiles are made. The silica glass fiber tiles cover much of the exterior of each spaceship and protect against the heat of re-entry. There was extensive water damage inside that structure, Kennedy said.
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