Sea scare forces Nasa to retreat
Many NASA centers have already faced costly damage from encroaching water
Washington: Sea level rise is threatening the majority of Nasa’s launch pads and multi-billion dollar complexes famous for training astronauts and launching historic missions to space, scientists said on Tuesday.
From Cape Canaveral in Florida to mission control in Houston, the US space agency is busily building seawalls where possible and moving some buildings further inland.
Five of seven major Nasa centers are located along the coast. Experts say that proximity to water is a logistical necessity for launching rockets and testing spacecraft.
Many NASA centers have already faced costly damage from encroaching water, coastal erosion and potent hurricanes, said a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Perhaps the most iconic launchpad lies in Florida at the Kennedy Space Centre, the liftoff point for the Apollo missions to the Moon and many space shuttle flights over the past three decades.
“According to Nasa’s planning and development office, rising sea levels are the single largest threat to the Kennedy Space Centre’s continued operations,” said the report, which also listed other historic sites across the United States that are threatened by sea level rise.
The list also includes the Statue of Liberty.