8.30.2005
Katrina Space
In law, according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, an "act of God" is an "operation of uncontrollable natural forces."
Indeed. As Hurricane Katrina winds down, damage assessment takes over. One item of concern to the space industry: On its destructive path through Louisiana, Katrina caused damage at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, the site where Lockheed Martin Space Systems and up to 2,000 employees assemble space shuttle external fuel tanks.
However, by all accounts -- thankfully -- things could have been worse. (Of course, weather-related worries are not new at Michoud. Remember, for example, Hurricane Lili? Tropical Storm Isidore?)
Of course, Alan Boyle sees the storm from space.
For now, Space Law Probe sends regards to friends at the National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center (located at the University of Mississippi School of Law) and other readers in the Gulf Coast region.
Meanwhile, was Katrina the most blogged hurricane in history? Maybe. Until the next Big ONE...
* * *
Indeed. As Hurricane Katrina winds down, damage assessment takes over. One item of concern to the space industry: On its destructive path through Louisiana, Katrina caused damage at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, the site where Lockheed Martin Space Systems and up to 2,000 employees assemble space shuttle external fuel tanks.
However, by all accounts -- thankfully -- things could have been worse. (Of course, weather-related worries are not new at Michoud. Remember, for example, Hurricane Lili? Tropical Storm Isidore?)
Of course, Alan Boyle sees the storm from space.
For now, Space Law Probe sends regards to friends at the National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center (located at the University of Mississippi School of Law) and other readers in the Gulf Coast region.
Meanwhile, was Katrina the most blogged hurricane in history? Maybe. Until the next Big ONE...
* * *
UPDATE Tuesday, 4:00est: Any initial relief may have come too soon. The latest events in the Gulf show creeping devastation as a breached levy in New Orleans is causing water to pour in, leaving people stranded and in need of emergency rescue. Coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and indeed areas inland suffer the devastating aftermath of Katrina with deteriorating and dangerous conditions including flooding, fires, gas leaks, power outages, as well as some looting. One commentator said "Biloxi looks like a bomb hit it." I am sorry to have posted earlier about the shuttle tank facility. (And to think this was NOT a cat 5 storm and NOT a direct hit on New Orleans.)
