Security tightest ever for shuttle launch

Shuttle Endeavour

By Richard Stenger
CNN Sci-Tech

(CNN) -- Military fighter planes and helicopters have been flying over Kennedy Space Center in recent days, but no private airplanes will be permitted anywhere near the space shuttle Endeavour when it lifts off Thursday.

The security measures, the tightest ever for a NASA launch, aim to prevent terrorists from threatening the $2 billion orbiter or its seven-person crew.

The evening launch will kick off the first shuttle mission since the deadly attacks on New York and Washington in September.

Besides restricting air, boat and automobile traffic, the preventive measures include a beefed up military presence around the NASA spaceport that harbors the shuttle fleet in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

VIDEO CNN's Miles O'Brien reports NASA is taking extreme measures to ensure safety for the upcoming launch of the space shuttle (November 29) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

The force would be able to "shoo away the innocent and bring down the hostile," said Col. Samuel Dick, the Air Force officer responsible for launch security, on Wednesday.

Dick, based at nearby Patrick Air Force Base, declined to discuss details about the plan to protect the mission, such as conditions whereby military personnel might use lethal force to stop potential terrorists.

When asked about specifics, he referred reporters to the public statements of U.S. leaders in the past. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration authorized the military to shoot down any hijacked airplane that could be used in a terrorist act.

While no specific threat was mentioned, Dick noted that some of the persons identified by the FBI as September 11 terrorists had lived and trained in Florida.

The launch precautions are unprecedented. Beginning hours before dawn, a no-fly zone will extend 30 miles from the Endeavour launch pad. A handful of airports near the space center will be closed.

The Orlando airport will remain open to commercial flights but the planes must fly in a tightened corridor away from the launch area.

Boaters hoping to catch a glimpse of the picturesque evening launch, scheduled for 7:41 p.m. ET, will face major restrictions as well. Usually maritime traffic is prohibited in a safety zone about three miles wide off the Cape Canaveral coast.

For this launch, beginning three hours before blast off, the forbidden zone will extend 60 miles from Kennedy Space Center.

Land restrictions will be in effect as well. Traditionally, many onlookers watch launches from roads and causeways along the NASA property. Not this time.

Amid the signs of heightened alert, NASA expressed confidence that the launch would take place without a hitch.

"We're satisfied that the necessary precautions have taken place or we wouldn't launch," said Ron Dittemore, the agency's shuttle program manager.

Three of the Endeavour's crew members, two Americans and one Russian, will remain in orbit onboard the international space station.

On the return flight, 11 days later, their seats will be taken by the current space station Alpha inhabitants, two Russians and one American, who will have spent four months in orbit.

Endeavour's payload will consist of more than 2 tons of supplies, including food, hardware, experiments and thousands of miniature U.S. flags, which will later be given to relatives of those who died in the September attacks.

There is a 60 percent chance of acceptable weather conditions for launch, forecasters predicted Wednesday.