CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An already expanded "no-fly zone" around Kennedy Space Center will be widened yet again prior to the planned launch Thursday of Endeavour on NASA's first wartime shuttle flight, officials said Tuesday.
What's more, a U.S. Air Force official indicated that the military is poised to employ deadly force to protect the $2 billion spaceship and its seven astronauts from terrorist attack.
In a stern but somewhat cryptic warning, the official indicated that military fighters would be ready to intercept and shoot down any aircraft that strays too far into restricted airspace as countdown clocks tick toward a planned liftoff at 7:41 p.m. EST (0041 GMT Friday).
And without discussing details, the official left little question that military pilots have been briefed on what he called "the rules of engagement that we're using on how we will engage a potential adversary - shoo away the innocents and eliminate the hostiles."
"I'm not going to go into what precise rules of engagement we use in order to ensure that innocent folks are not harmed, but there is a set of procedures that we use to specifically address that question," said Col. Sam Dick, vice commander of the Air Force's 45th Space Wing, the military unit responsible for shuttle launch-day security.
"For those folks who are unfortunate to accidentally end up in that area, they may actually see some of our assets attempt to intercept and move them away. Our purpose is to keep them from reaching a point where decisions have to be made that would be adverse," he said."There are many, many steps we would take before we take that last step," he added.
In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on America, President Bush gave the military the authority to shoot down civilian aircraft if it became apparent they were under control of terrorists and posed a clear and present danger to the public.
On any given shuttle launch day, dozens of private aircraft take to the skies around Central Florida to get a bird's-eye view of a ship's thundering climb toward orbit. Small planes flying within restricted airspace around shuttle launch pads in fact have halted past countdowns.
The inherent vulnerability of a shuttle on the launch pad, however, has been even more apparent since the recent attacks, when terrorists used hijacked commercial airliners as fuel-laden weapons.
With its external tank filled with a half-million gallons of explosive rocket fuel, a shuttle represents a potential target for any would-be terrorist flying a suicide mission in even a light aircraft.
Consequently, NASA, the Air Force, the Coast Guard and the Federal Aviation Administration are taking unprecedented steps to safeguard Endeavour.
Military jet fighters and helicopter gunships are expected to be in the air over NASA's coastal Florida spaceport Thursday and an advanced air surveillance radar is in place at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The so-called TPS 75 radar can detect aircraft flying between ground level and 100,000 feet (30,333 meters) at a range of up to 200 miles (320 kilometers).
NASA is barring the public from driving to a launch-viewing site for the first time since shuttle flights began in 1981. Journalists and VIPs are attracting close scrutiny and even NASA and contractor workers are subject to hands-on ID checks and random searches at KSC gates.
The latest heightening of security came Tuesday as the FAA announced plans to increase restricted air space for the second time in recent weeks.
A "no-fly zone" established earlier this month is to be expanded between 1:45 a.m. EST (0645 GMT) and 8:45 p.m. EST Thursday (0145 GMT Friday).
During that time, general aviation traffic will be prohibited anywhere from the ground to 18,000 feet (5,460 meters) in airspace that stretches 34.5 miles (55.2 kilometers) from the shuttle's launch pad.
In addition, all aircraft flying between 34.5 (55.2 kilometers) and 46 miles (73.6 kilometers) of the pad will be required to obtain a discrete transponder code and clearance from the appropriate Air Traffic Control facility prior to entering the airspace.
Pilots also will have to maintain constant contact with Air Traffic Control and violators will be subject to interception by military aircraft.
The so-called Temporary Flight Restriction, or TFR, zone represents a further widening of restricted air space around KSC. The FAA on Nov. 8 announced the establishment of a TFR zone that would prohibit aircraft from flying within 10 to 20 miles (16 to 32 kilometers) of the pad.
The expanded zone will effectively close down three small local airports in the KSC area for a 19-hour period on Thursday.
However, commercial airliners flying to and from major Florida airports -- including Orlando International and Melbourne International -- will not be affected. Those jets typically are flying close to or above 18,000 feet when they approach the KSC area, and they typically skirt the boundaries of the no-fly zone.
Nonetheless, military and civilian air traffic controllers will be keeping close tabs on all commercial flights as NASA prepares Endeavour for launch.
The heightened security, meanwhile, also extends well out into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral.
A restricted zone stretching three miles (4.8 kilometers) out to sea has been off limits to mariners since Oct. 1. That zone will be expanded from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST (2200 GMT Thursday to 0100 GMT Friday) to include a normal "launch hazard area" that extends about 65 miles (104 kilometers) northeast of the shuttle launch pad.
Mariners will have to stay clear of the expanded zone, and sport-fishing vessels will not be allowed in it at all. The potential penalty for violators: six years in jail and a $250,000 fine.
Both NASA and Air Force officials say the extra security precautions are prudent, and Dick was quick to note that many of the hijackers involved in the Sept. 11 attacks had lived, worked and attended flight school in Florida.
"It certainly is appropriate considering the United States is at war and this is an area where we know terrorists did frequent. The threat is terrorism, and we want to ensure that the safe and secure access to space is guaranteed," he said.
"I think that whatever comes, we'll be prepared," he added. "That's what we're here for."
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