spacetoday.net: JSC survives hurricane with minor damage

Posted: Sun, Sep 14, 2008, 10:35 AM ET (1435 GMT)
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston bore the brunt of Hurricane Ike on Saturday but suffered only minor damage to its facilities, according to local reports. The roof of the building that houses mission control was damaged, but critical equipment inside the building was not damaged. Roofs of several other buildings also were damaged, and utility poles knocked down, but there were no reports of more significant damage to the center, such as flooding from a storm surge. There were reports of damage to hangars at nearby Ellington Field, where NASA aircraft are stored, but those planes were flown out before the hurricane arrived. JSC closed on midday Thursday in advance of the hurricane; no date has been announced for when it will reopen, but it could be several days, in part because of the serious storm damage and flooding elsewhere in the Houston area.