The Kennedy Space Center was cleared after a glancing blow from Hurricane Dorian on Wednesday.
The hurricane is a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale, and it hit the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral with torrents of rain and winds on Tuesday and early Wednesday.
The spaceport was closed last week as Dorian threatened to hit Florida’s east coast and at the time it was a category 5.
Since then it weakened and turned north, avoiding Florida.
Members of the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Space Wing rode out the storm at the launch center, the space agency confirmed.
“Data from our 250-foot tower clocked the top wind speed at 90 mph (145 km),” KSC officials said in a Twitter update. “The closest approach Dorian’s eye [made] to the Cape was 70 nautical miles (130 km).”
By midday Wednesday, officials cleared the space canter, with a security detail raising an American flag above the countdown clock at Launch Complex 39.
“The Damage Assessment and Recovery Team will fully survey Kennedy for Hurricane Dorian damage on Thursday,” KSC officials said via Twitter. “Workers at NASA Kennedy are scheduled to return to work Friday.”
As of 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) on Wednesday, Hurricane Dorian had maximum winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) and was about 150 miles (245 km) south of Charleston, South Carolina, according to a National Hurricane Center update.
The storm was predicted to approach South Carolina’s east coast on Wednesday and move near the North Carolina coast on Thursday and Friday.
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