ASRC Aerospace Continues to Work on Lightning Protection at KSC

This article appears in the December 6, 2007 issue of Florida Today

Big surge strips spark high hope - $28M lightning system to guard moon missions

CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA is converting one of its twin shuttle launch pads for moon missions even as shuttles are being readied for liftoff at the other complex a mile and a half away.

Countdown clocks on Wednesday were ticking ahead toward today's 4:31 p.m. Atlantis launch as construction crews laid the foundation for a new lightning protection system at Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39B.

Three 594-foot towers will be raised at the complex, and wire cables will be strung between them to protect NASA's Ares 1 rockets, Orion spacecraft and moon-bound astronauts.

NASA's Jose Perez-Morales, 55, is keyed up about the transformation.

"This is very exciting," the Titusville resident said. "You know, I've been working here for more than 20 years, and it's definitely very exciting to be on the leading edge of the new program."

A married father of three, Perez-Morales is one of a growing number of engineers, scientists and managers involved in preparing KSC facilities and ground systems for moon missions.

The $27.9 million lightning protection system is being built by Ivey's Construction Inc. of Merritt Island.

Thunderstorms in Florida generate more than 1 million lightning strikes annually, and the pads at KSC are at the eastern end of an infamous thunderstorm alley that stretches across the peninsula.

Pedro Medelius, chief scientist with ASRC Aerospace Corp., said lightning strikes can destroy sensitive spacecraft electronics while exposing astronauts and pad workers to serious danger.

"We're talking about lightning strikes in Florida that can put out up to 200,000 amps," said Medelius, 51, a married father of two from Merritt Island. "That's a very, very large current. If you want to put that in perspective, one-tenth of an amp can kill a person."

The lightning protection system represents one of the first work packages aimed at converting pad 39B for the Ares 1 rocket, which will stand 320 feet tall.

Some 216 concrete pilings each will be driven 55 feet into the ground to form the foundation for the giant steel-and- fiberglass towers, which will be assembled horizontally and then hoisted into position by a 60-story crane.

Each tower will be equipped with a network of wires and conductors that will divert lightning away from the pad and into the ground.

The system is expected to be completed in January 2010.

Ares 1 rockets ultimately will be launched from mobile platforms that have service towers atop them. The fixed service structure and rotating service structure now at the pad will be demolished.

Most of the conversion work will be delayed until after the planned August launch of Atlantis from pad 39A on a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.

The first piloted flight of an Ares 1 is scheduled to take place in March 2015. NASA plans to use pad 39A to launch Ares 5 cargo rockets.

BY TODD HALVORSON - FLORIDA TODAY

Contact Halvorson at 639-0576 or thalvorson@floridatoday.com