"Boxcars are about the right height," he offered.
#Canaveral national seashore sea turtle nesting how to
Image credit: NASA/George SheltonĪs those charged with helping to protect the environmental balance debated how to shield the beach from the lights, Doug Scheidt with Kennedy's life sciences support contractor Dynamac had an idea.
Image at Left: In the foreground, a sea turtle nest is marked with a stake, while one of the railcars temporarily placed to block light from the launch pads is visible at left. And while some dune restoration was completed and more is planned, some stop-gap measures were needed until the nesting season ends at the beginning of November.Įnter some inventive individuals with a novel idea: Use what they have on hand to help block the launch pad lights so the nesting process can continue undisturbed. That year, the space center was impacted by two hurricanes just three weeks apart. The natural height of the dune normally provides a necessary buffer, but the dunes along Florida's Space Coast have been severely eroded in some spots by hurricanes, particularly during the 2004 season. Image credit: NASA/Kim ShiflettĪs part of keeping the balance with its natural surroundings, the space center's environmental management system has as one of its goals to minimize controllable impacts to wildlife, including the nesting sea turtles.
Image at Right: Lights covered Launch Pad 39A as workers made final preparations for Endeavour's launch on mission STS-118. The light emanating from the pads can deter the adults from coming ashore to lay their eggs and disorient the hatchlings as they emerge from their nests and head toward the moonlit sea. During their summer nesting season, these turtles emerge from the ocean along the pristine beach within 200 yards of the space shuttle launch pads. It may sound like an awesome and idyllic scene, but not for nesting sea turtles and their newly hatched babies. On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Space Shuttle Endeavour sat bathed in glowing light, silhouetting the vehicle against the dark night sky over the seaside complex.
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