Kennedy Space Center reopening delayed

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency's planned partial reopening of the Kennedy Space Center was delayed Thursday because of slow-moving Tropical Storm Fay.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials closed the facility Tuesday due to heavy rainfall and strong winds forecast to occur as the storm moved over southern Florida.

NASA told Kennedy supervisors Wednesday to decide which workers they considered "mission essential" and instruct them to report for work at 10 a.m. EDT Thursday. They were to include workers needed to maintain space center infrastructure, as well as those who process spaceflight hardware, such as space shuttles and Hubble Space Telescope equipment.

That plan was canceled, however, as Fay stalled off the Florida coast and continued to produce heavy rainfall and tropical force winds at the space center.

About 200 emergency workers, known as a "ride-out crew," remained on duty Thursday to provide real-time storm assessments.

"Based on initial assessments, there are no injuries, damage to flight hardware or flooding associated with Fay at the center," said NASA in a statement. "Only minor damage has been seen on a few facilities, including the Vehicle Assembly Building, which lost one exterior panel from its east side."