Kennedy Space Center Shuts Down to Brace for Irma

The last time KSC needed to implement

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HURCON procedure was in October 2016 with Hurricane Matthew. The spaceport won't be completely abandoned, however. There will be rideout teams staying behind, made up of senior-level managers, a NASA emergency management officer, and representatives from contractors, commercial partners and other related organizations.

Before the storm hits, though, it got one last mission off the ground: a crewless Orbital Test Vehicle, sent on a SpaceX reusable Falcon 9 rocket. While the Air Force asked SpaceX to maintain secrecy on the OTV's mission, the company was able to broadcast its booster rocket's successful landing at Cape Canaveral, marking its 16th return of a first-stage booster.