NASA’s Johnson Space Remains Closed After Hurricane Ike

NASA’s Johnson Space Remains Closed After Hurricane Ike

NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston remains closed and likely will be limited to recovery operations for the next week. Johnson may not be open for normal operations until the week of Sept. 21.

The 65-member team that rode out Hurricane Ike at Johnson has begun to transition to recovery operations, cleaning up debris, restoring power and other center facilities and infrastructure.

A damage assessment team determined that the Sonny Carter Training Facility near Johnson appears to be undamaged.

The International Space Station continues to be controlled by NASA flight controllers who were dispatched to the Austin, Texas, area and Huntsville, Ala., prior to the onset of the storm.

It is too early to know what effect, if any, the hurricane will have on upcoming space shuttle launches.

Johnson employees are encouraged to call the JSC Emergency Information Line locally at 281-483-3351, or remotely, toll-free, at 1-877-283-1947, for updated information, including when they should return to work. Employees can also check the agency’s Emergency Operactions Center Web site at http://www.nasa.gov/eoc.