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KSC Director Says $340 Million will Fix Space Center Facilities
By Chris Kridler
FLORIDA TODAY
posted: 08:00 am ET
11 September 2002
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Some $340 million proposed for NASA's budget during the next six years should go a long way toward fixing timeworn facilities at Kennedy Space Center, director Roy Bridges said Tuesday. Although previous estimates to refurbish the Vehicle Assembly Building and other shuttle-related facilities went to $600 million, Bridges said planned budgets should be enough to keep the program safe and shuttles flying as late as 2020. "The sky is not falling," Bridges said. "As a matter of fact, we are going to take care of these facility problems that we have." In 2002 and 2003, $50 million per year is allocated for major refurbishments of facilities, he said. That's a significant increase over the $20 million a year spent in the late '90s, he added. Bridges cited various projects designed to refurbish facilities, from electrical upgrades to $5.7 million for "safe haven," which opened another high bay in the Vehicle Assembly Building so three orbiter stacks could be stored there during a hurricane. In addition, a new five-story office building will eliminate battered office trailers that took the place of offices that were ousted from the VAB, and a state-of-the-art experiment processing facility will replace a converted airplane hangar that scientists have used for decades. "We have a pretty good track record, I think, of looking each year at where the safety and health risks are in the program and moving money in order to take care of those problems," Bridges said. That said, work to refurbish the VAB, problems including a leaky roof, could take years and more money. The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, which advises Congress and NASA, has criticized Kennedy Space Center for not keeping up with maintenance requests. Often managers must defer maintenance money from a facility that needs work to one that's in crisis. "From a safety standpoint, I would say they're doing a great job," panel member and former launch director Bob Sieck said. But managers shouldn't have to sacrifice tomorrow's safety for today's safety, he said. "That's the concern that the panel has, because the limited resources NASA lives with today puts the managers in that posture," Sieck said. "They did not see enough aggressive action initially on this program," Bridges said of the safety panel, "so they were alerting folks that, look, this is at the point now where we really need to pay attention to it. . . . NASA has listened and is paying attention, with the types of moneys I've outlined, particularly applying to KSC." Published under license from FLORIDA TODAY. Copyright © 2002 FLORIDA TODAY. No portion of this material may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of FLORIDA TODAY.
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