NASA Lauds Shuttle Fuel Tank Plant Workers
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NASA chief Michael Griffin surveys damage to one of the space shuttle's external tank which occured during Hurricane Katrina. CREDIT: NASA. |
Hurricane Katrina did a half-billion dollars in damage at a vital shuttle manufacturing plant in Louisiana, but a ride-out crew of 37 people saved the factory from what could have been catastrophic damage.
Located on the northeast side of New Orleans between Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne, the Michoud Assembly Facility was swamped with heavy rains and battered by high winds as Katrina came ashore Aug. 29.
But the ride-out crew was able to keep generators and pumps running at the 43-acre plant, protecting eight shuttle external tanks that were in various stages of assembly. The only damage to flight hardware: dinged insulation on one of the 15-story tanks.
"They risked their lives," NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said. "You can't buy the kind of dedication that I saw down there from our folks for money -- for any amount of money. It's not about salary or about holding a job. It's about dedication to the program."
Katrina will be the costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. The storm caused more than $125 billion in damage in the New Orleans area and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The death toll cannot yet be estimated.
The sprawling tank manufacturing plant literally was cut off from the outside world by the killer storm. Only helicopters and boats could get to the factory because surrounding roadways were flooded.
Food, water and other supplies had to be flown or ferried to the plant, and the people working on the ride-out crew only had access to running water one hour each morning. Fresh clothing didn't arrive for more than a week.
"We were fortunate that water did not get over the levees into Michoud. There was, of course, an immense amount of flooding, but the pumps were able to handle that. It wouldn't have happened without the people who were staying there," Griffin said.
"It was really quite profound to see it. If you could see what they had done and were not moved by it, then you are not movable."
The Lockheed Martin factory is one of the largest employers in New Orleans. Some 2,000 NASA and contractor employees work there.
The plant was one of two NASA facilities damaged by the hurricane.
Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Miss., sustained $600 million in damage. NASA tests liquid-fueled shuttle main engines there.
Katrina marked the second consecutive year that hurricanes have damaged NASA facilities and stalled the agency's efforts to return its shuttle fleet to service.
Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne caused more than $100 million in damage at Kennedy Space Center in August and September 2004.
Published under license from FLORIDA TODAY. Copyright ? 2005 FLORIDA TODAY. No portion of this material may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of FLORIDA TODAY.
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