Security inspections were conducted of all employee vehicles entering KSC and CCAFS on September 12. Image: Florida Today, September 13, 2001, page 13A.
This article is based on newspaper and other media articles as well as the recollections of KSC workers on September 11, 2001. Their recollections, where unnamed, are anonymous to protect their privacy.
The Two Towers
September 11, 2001 dawned at Kennedy Space Center pretty much the same as any other day.
NASA’s primary launch site was then, and still is, a 24-hour operation. In 2001, the Space Shuttle program was being used to start building the International Space Station. Shuttle launches during that era were KSC’s raison d'être. In 2001, Shuttle launched six times, all to ISS, delivering components, supplies, and crew rotations.
The last mission, STS-105, launched and landed at KSC the month before. The orbiter Discovery had landed three weeks ago on August 22 at the center’s Shuttle Landing Facility. On September 11, Discovery was parked in an Orbiter Processing Facility hangar next to the Vehicle Assembly Building, undergoing inspection and refurbishment for another mission.
The next mission, STS-108, was stacking in the VAB. Its orbiter, Endeavour, was in another OPF hangar. Its launch was targeted for late November.
A typical day. Workers went about their daily affairs. Some were attending classes during this down time.
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex opened at its usual hour, 9:00 AM Eastern Time. The New York City terror attacks had just begun. American Airlines Flight 11 out of Boston crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower at 8:46 AM. That was less than fifteen minutes before KSCVC opened. The crash was a tragedy, certainly, but no one foresaw how that could affect a modest Florida tourist attraction. Bus tours soon started rolling.
And then the second plane, United Airlines Flight 175 also out of Boston, struck the South Tower at 9:03 AM. The Pentagon was hit by American Airlines Flight 77 out of Dulles airport at 9:37 AM.
A fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93 out of Newark, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 AM as its passengers fought the hijackers for control of the aircraft. The terrorists’ target may have been the Capitol or the White House.
A 21st Century Pearl Harbor was underway. Anywhere could be the next target — including Kennedy Space Center.
Full Stop
WKMG-TV Channel 6 in Orlando reports on Kennedy Space Center’s evacuation, September 11, 2001. Video source: 911InvestigationVids YouTube channel.
The civilian Kennedy Space Center and the neighboring military Cape Canaveral Air Force Station had no precedent for this scenario. Security police had trained with “what if” exercises, but the possibility of an inbound commercial airliner as a missile was beyond comprehension. Besides, the terrorists still could choose another method of an attack, such as a truck bomb or a suicide bomber. On this day, no scenario was too outlandish. Anything — and anyone — could be a threat.
KSC, CCAFS, and Patrick Air Force Base south of Cocoa Beach soon closed their gates to the public. After the second attack, KSCVC shut down their bus tours. The park closed by 2 PM. Twelve thousand KSC employees were sent home in the afternoon rain until further notice, leaving behind a skeleton crew of about 200. KSC and CCAFS security officers went on twelve-hour shifts as the bases for the first time went to Threat Condition Delta. Concrete barricades went up at the Patrick AFB entrance.
The terrorists who flew out of Boston’s Logan Airport had rented a Mitsubishi Mirage they left in a parking structure. Two KSC sources told me they were briefed that the rental car contained a list of alternate targets — one of which was Kennedy Space Center.
I’ve been unable to verify this report. A KSC spokesman said at the time that they were unaware of any specific threats to the space center. The Boston Globe reported on September 23, 2001 that the rental car had Boeing 757 and 767 flight training manuals and a Koran — but no mention of a target list. The 9/11 Commission reports do not mention Kennedy Space Center. The New York Times reported on June 16, 2004 that early terrorist plans had targeted the FBI, the CIA, nuclear power plants, and skyscrapers in other states. At one point, a second wave of attacks had been planned.
A US Army Apache H64A helicopter patrols over Kennedy Space Center on November 28, 2001. Image source: NASA.
KSC nonetheless is a logical target. The VAB is large and obvious, with the NASA logo serving as a bull’s-eye. The Shuttle solid rocket boosters stacked in the high bay are shipped with solid fuel inside, so they are giant bombs awaiting an ignition source. Such an attack would have crippled not only the US space program but the ISS partnership, as the Shuttle was the only US vehicle capable of delivering modules to build the space station.
Fourteen of the nineteen terrorists lived for a while in Palm Beach County, about 130 miles south of KSC. One can speculate that they could drive to Merritt Island to take a KSC tour bus and scout targets. But that’s strictly speculation.
Alternate target or not, the Space Coast was vulnerable.
Security helicopters orbited the VAB and the two launch pads at 39A and 39B. One individual recalls military jets flying patrol sorties along the coast, although the entire US eastern coastline was being patrolled. The US Coast Guard patrolled Port Canaveral and off the shores of Cape Canaveral. When the gates reopened to KSC employees on September 13, cars backed up for miles while security officers conducted thorough inspections of each vehicle. Temporary employees found their badges rescinded and were required to go through another screening.
Frank Culbertson recalls his thoughts about being in space on September 11, 2001, as told at KSCVC in 2014. Video source: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex YouTube channel.
Three astronauts were aboard the ISS on September 11 — NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson, and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Tyurin and Vladimir Dezhurov. Using cameras aboard, Culbertson was able to capture photos and videos of the World Trade Center and, on his next orbit, the Pentagon.
In a September 2014 video recorded at KSCVC, Culbertson revealed that NASA had temporarily relocated the ISS Mission Control from Houston’s Johnson Space Center to a secure location. The Roscosmos mission control in Star City, just outside Moscow, took responsibility for ISS operations.
A New Normal
The Air Force Technical Applications Center in 1969. Highway A1A in front of this building was closed for months after the terror attack. Image source: Florida Memory.
KSCVC reopened to the public on September 18. Guests could enter only through State Road 405 from Titusville. State Road 3 from Merritt Island was no longer accessible to the public. Guests had to leave backpacks, coolers, and suitcases in their cars. Electronic devices were inspected. Everyone had to pass through metal detectors. The bus tour route was shortened to circling the VAB then ending at the Apollo Saturn V Center.
On September 20, the US Air Force decided to shut down a six-mile stretch of Highway A1A as it passed by Patrick AFB. The Air Force Technical Applications Center, a 1950s-era building, faced onto the highway and was considered vulnerable to attack. In modern times, it was used to monitor nuclear treaty compliance. A berm barrier was built along A1A in front of AFTAC, which was later hardened with heavy metal sheeting under a concrete facing. Highway A1A finally reopened on January 9, 2002 with several restrictions; tractor-trailer rigs were prohibited. A new AFTAC was built away from the road; the original was demolished in 2015.
Before the attack, guests wanting to visit the Air Force Space and Missile Museum at the Cape’s Launch Complex 26 simply had to drive up to the CCAFS Gate 1 and tell the guard they wanted to visit the museum. I tried this as a tourist in the late 1990s; I was shocked when the guard told me, “Follow the signs,” and waved me through. I remember thinking how easy it would be for a terrorist to penetrate Cape security. After the attack, that practice ended.
On October 24, Endeavour rolled over to the VAB for mating with the rest of the shuttle stack. Access to the rollout was tightly restricted. KSC employees normally were allowed to pose in front of the orbiter, but this time were kept away by a rope line. Security officers with submachine guns were always present for rollouts, but this time their presence meant business.
When STS-108 launched on December 5, it carried several artifacts to honor those who lost their lives on September 11. According to NASA’s STS-108 webpage:
The 10 astronauts and cosmonauts in orbit took a break from the transfer of supplies, experiments and equipment to and from the space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station to pay tribute to the heroes of the September 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon. Joined by flight controllers in Mission Control, the crews observed the playing of the U.S. and Russian national anthems at 8:46 a.m. EST, the three-month anniversary of the first impact at the World Trade Center.
Also, aboard Endeavour were 6,000 small United States flags that would be distributed to heroes and families of the victims of the attacks after the shuttle returned to Earth; a U.S. flag that was found at the World Trade Center site after the attacks; a U.S. flag that had flown above the Pennsylvania state capitol; a U.S. Marine Corps Colors flag from the Pentagon; a New York Fire Department flag; and a poster that included photographs of firefighters lost in the attacks.
On February 18, 2011, nearly ten years after the attacks, KSCVC hosted a partial restoration of what came to be called “the national 9/11 flag.” Florida’s state flag was sewn into a damaged flag recovered from the World Trade Center site. The 9/11 flag was displayed at the Rocket Garden. Click here for a video of the event.
The national 9/11 flag on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Rocket Garden, February 18, 2011. Image source: NASA.
Twenty five years have passed since that dark day. The Space Coast still hosts America’s space program, but it’s a bit less welcoming than it was before the attacks.
A new entrance to KSCVC opened in 2012. Guests passed through a plaza designed to scan visitors for weapons and other potential threats. The entrance, unlike before, was now outside a building.
CCAFS tours became far more stringent as the USAF required guests to provide a government-issued identification for background review before boarding a KSC tour bus. By the early 2020s, those tours were ended as the USAF wanted to restrict access to only US citizens. Tours are available today through Canaveral Tours but are restricted to US citizens, permanent legal residents, and Green Card holders. Those guests must pass a background security screening before boarding a tour van.
In the 1960s, the USAF and KSC allowed guests to drive through their facilities on Sundays, following a map handed to drivers at the entrance. Those days were so innocent and so naive. Our innocence was lost on September 11, 2001.
Innocence is now vigilance.