Launch Delays Due to Wildlife at Kennedy Space Center

When planning a space center where rockets, space shuttles and other high flying equipment goes into outer space, don't you think you should look for a location that is not adjacent to a wild life refuge? Over the years, launch commanders at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida have had to deal with alligators on the road way, bats on the fuel tanks and turkey vultures in the lift off pattern. Unknown to most of the television watching population, NASA's launch pads are as popular with the wildlife as it is to the human spectator.

Kennedy Space Center is also home to the 140,000 acre Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is a habitat for more than 310 species of birds, 25 species of mammals, 117 species of fish and 65 species of amphibians and reptiles. 15 species of wildlife at the refuge are listed as threatened or endangered, including the manatee, five species of turtles and the American alligator.

In part due to the proximity of the refuge and other shore birds, NASA launch pads are equipped with warning sirens to ward off birds and other wildlife at liftoff. But warning sirens do not seem to bother bats. The space shuttle Discovery lifted off the launch pad in March 2009 with a small bat still clinging to the side of the external fuel tank. For one brief moment in time, the bat flew further and higher than any bat had ever flown before. Needless to say, there was no sign of the bat when the Discovery docked with the space station a few days later. This was not the first bat to try to hitch a ride on the Discovery. In 1996 a bat was seen clinging to the shuttle while preparing for launch but the bat left just before shuttle take-off.

Brushing bats aside, how does an alligator hitch a ride into space? That is exactly what one member of the refuge was trying to figure out when on June 2, 2009, an alligator crossed paths with the crew of the Endeavor. The astronauts were traveling in their van on their way to the launch pad to rehearse liftoff procedures during a demonstration test when they were stopped by a slow moving alligator. The alligator took his time crossing the road and wandered off into the woods on the edge of the road as the shuttle crew watched in astonishment.

People say turkeys can't fly but that does not stop the turkey vultures from taking up residence at the space center. In July 2005, the external tank of the Discovery was hit during lift off by a large turkey vulture. No damage was reported due to the collision and the turkey vulture could not be reached for comment. To help keep the vultures away, NASA employees are asked to report any road kill found at the space center that may attract large groups of feeding turkey vultures.

Just as birds flying into aircraft engines can down a jetliner, to prevent avian accidents at the space center, NASA has installed a bird radar to scan for flocks of birds that might fly in the path of the space shuttle. They have also installed sound cannons at the landing site to scare birds that may be in the way of a landing shuttle craft during touchdown.

Sharing your habitat with humans can be dangerous for any animal but for animals at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge additional precautions must be taken. Stay way from tall rockets that can burst into flames, watch where you are flying, and always look both ways before you cross the road are all necessary precautions for residents and visitors of the Kennedy Space Center.

http://www.fws.gov/merrittisland/Wildlife.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33499930/ns/technology_and_science-space/page/2/

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509666,00.html