spacetoday.net: Hurricanes could delay shuttle return to flight

Posted: Fri, Sep 17, 2004, 10:27 AM ET (1427 GMT)
VAB damage from Hurricane Frances (NASA)

The effects of two major hurricanes in recent weeks could eventually delay the space shuttle's return to flight next year, NASA officials said Thursday. The Kennedy Space Center suffered considerable damage from Hurricane Frances earlier this month, although the shuttles themselves were not damaged during the storm; the hurricane also effectively shut down the space center for 11 days. The Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, where the shuttle's external tanks are built, shut down this week when Hurricane Ivan threatened. Members of the Stafford-Covey Task Force, overseeing NASA's return to flight activities, said Thursday it was too soon to say whether the first post-Columbia shuttle flight, currently planned for March 2005, will be delayed, but they did note that it was a "tight schedule to start with". NASA is also keeping an eye on yet another hurricane that could pose a risk to shuttle flight preparations. Jeanne, a tropical storm along the northern coast of the Dominican Republic as of Friday morning, is forecast to strengthen and head northwest towards Florida in the coming days. A forecast Friday morning by the National Hurricane Center had Jeanne making a sharp turn towards the Florida coast just north of the Kennedy Space Center by Wednesday.