KSC, Cape hope to have 'dodged another bullet'

Teams will fan out across Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday morning looking for any havoc Hurricane Irma may have caused to critical spaceport infrastructure.

Inspections also are underway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base.

"We dodged another bullet this year when the storm headed west instead of east, which made things less intense from early storm forecasts," Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, commander of the 45th Space Wing, said Monday on Facebook. "That said, it's still not over and safety remains our No. 1 priority."

There were no immediate reports of problems at major KSC facilities like the Vehicle Assembly Building, Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building or pads 39A and 39B, or at active Cape-side launch pads, hangars and control centers.

More: Airports getting back to normal with Hurricane Irma's exit

More: Water problems affecting Cocoa, Viera, Suntree, Rockledge after Irma

But by Monday afternoon, KSC personnel had only driven around the center for preliminary inspections, focused on making sure it would be safe for NASA's Damage Assessment and Recovery Team, or DART, to get to work Tuesday.

"The assessments are still going on just to make sure it's safe for DART members to come on center and do their jobs," said Al Feinberg, a KSC spokesman who was part of the ride-out team hunkered inside the Launch Control Center.

On Tuesday morning, roughly 250 DART members will convene and start more thorough walk-throughs of facilities.

The center will remain closed to most of its roughly 8,000 civil servants and contractors until further notice.

Last year, KSC suffered an estimated $160 million in damage from Hurricane Matthew, so far receiving about $75 million for repairs.

More: Restaurants, businesses open in Brevard after Irma

More: 'Weather Channel's' Norcross: Irma was slowed, weakened by Cuba

Several miles of dunes shielding launch pads were hammered, as was the iconic Beach House where astronauts gathered with families before launches. A utility annex near the VAB was comprised, cutting off air conditioning for most of Launch Complex 39, and repairs were not expected to be completed until next year.

Monteith said Patrick's north housing area had reopened Monday under a boil water notice, but the central housing area — "our hardest hit area" — remained closed.

No medical, commissary or other services were available yet on the base. Monteith said he was working to reopen the airfield to support additional rescue units arriving to help Florida recovery efforts.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com. And follow on Twitter at @flatoday_jdean and on Facebook at facebook.com/jamesdeanspace.