The damage done by Hurricane Frances to NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida could jeopardize plans to return the space shuttle to flight in March or April, according to the agency.

"We all know it's going to [make] some impact to the overall return to flight," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel told The DAILY.

NASA shut down KSC and sent its 14,000 employees home on Sept. 2 in anticipation of Frances, which proved to be the worst storm in the history of the facility. The storm did significant damage to the 525-foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) as well as the facility that manufactures the shuttle's Thermal Protection System (TPS) tiles and blankets. No injuries were reported.

Sustained winds above 70 miles per hour blew 1,000 exterior panels off the VAB and punched a number of holes in the structure, including one estimated at 50 feet by 50 feet. Inspectors have been delayed in entering the VAB because of the safety hazard posed by several loose panels still hanging from the building. With the interior of the VAB exposed to the elements, the agency is concerned about additional damage that could occur as a result of residual thunderstorms.

Equally crucial to shuttle operations is the TPS facility, which was building tiles and blankets for the return-to-flight mission when KSC was forced to stand down. The hurricane blew part of the facility's roof off and did significant damage to its walls.

However, "it's not a total loss," Beutel said. "They're able to get the molds and that sort of stuff out of the building." NASA already has begun discussions with TPS facilities in Palmdale, Calif., to see if they can take up the slack, according to Beutel.

Orbiters unharmed

The three shuttle orbiters themselves were safely housed in their respective hangars and suffered no damage, according to NASA. The Launch Control Center and the building housing International Space Station (ISS) components also were unscathed. At press time, nearly all electrical power had been restored to KSC, although only essential personnel had been sent back to work.

"We're assessing how our resources across the entire agency can best be used to offer support to the Kennedy Space Center, as emergency crews begin the tedious and difficult work of clearing debris and restoring power and other services to the facilities on site," NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said in a statement. "We're also tracking Hurricane Ivan very closely as it approaches the Caribbean."

KSC's next scheduled science launch was the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst mission on Oct. 7. Although the spacecraft itself was unharmed by the storm, damage to the building it was housed in probably will delay spacecraft processing and launch, Beutel said.