KSC carrion count climbing

The Roadkill Posse at Kennedy Space Center is cleaning up.

Literally.

More than 800 pounds of carrion has been collected around KSC since NASA in mid-April asked workers to call in roadkill sightings.

Coming in the wake of a bird strike during the STS-114 launch last July, the roadkill reporting program is aimed at ridding the spaceport of black vultures and turkey vultures.

The vultures roost around NASA's twin shuttle launch pads, and a bird strike in flight can cause serious damage to an orbiter. NASA hopes that eliminating a major food source will prompt the scavengers to go live elsewhere.

Click on the picture to enlarge the photo of the turkey vulture that struck shuttle Discovery's external tank after its July 26 launch.