RSS
Home
We Don't Like Ike: NASA Tracks Whopper Hurricane Ike
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
A few decades ago, delegates to the Republican National Convention would have been shouting "We like Ike!" But the famous slogan from the 1952 election that sent popular general Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower to the White House doesn't apply to Hurricane Ike, churning in the Atlantic.
Ike, now rated at Category 4, could become a monster storm for the Caribbean and the USA. The National Hurricane Center calls Ike "extremely dangerous".
Meteorologists are using NASA satellite data to evaluate and track Ike. NASA's Quikscat satellite shows that hurricane force winds extend out up to 45 miles from the center of the storm.
Tropical storm level winds spiral outwards up to 140 miles. Forecasters say that Ike could come ashore on the southern edge of Florida next week--although nothing is certain with tempermental tropical storms.
If another tropical storm comes through the Kennedy Space Center area, Space Shuttle Atlantis would be wrapped in its protective servicing structure at the pad. If a monster storm were to directly impact KSC, managers always have the option of returning the shuttle to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).
That decision would cost a few more precious days in the already-tight launch schedule. NASA closed two shuttle support centers centers as Hurricane Gustav roared ashore. They're now re-open. Tropical Storm Fay did some exterior damage to KSC.
By late this afternoon, Atlantis will be secured on the launch pad. As pre-launch work continues, NASA managers will keep a close eye on incoming weather.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
