KSC Mishap Under Investigation

Investigators are looking into what caused a tank to explode at Kennedy Space Center during a contractor's equipment test just before Christmas, NASA officials say.

Seven people were treated for minor injuries at KSC's medical clinic after the incident, which occurred around 9 a.m. Dec. 23 outside a cryogenic lab on space center property.

The most serious injury was abrasions sustained by one worker, said Allard Beutel, a KSC spokesman.

Beutel said ASRC Aerospace Corp. conducted the pressurization test on a composite tank for Lockheed Martin - work that was not related to a NASA project.

The vessel, contained by a metal cage with a plywood box around it, was intended to leak but not rupture, Beutel said.

Marion LaNasa, a spokesman for Lockheed Martin at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, said the test involved an unlined, liquid oxygen compatible tank measuring 54 inches in diameter that is being designed to support future launch vehicles.

In addition to the minor injuries, the blast's force and impact from pieces of plywood caused thousands of dollars of damage to the lab facility. The area is taped off but the building remains open.

A NASA "mishap investigation team" is expected to produce a report by late February, Beutel said.

"They're looking at what happened and how to prevent it from happening again," he said.

IMAGE NOTE: Click to enlarge the image of Lockheed Martin Corp's unlined liquid oxygen (LOX) compatible composite tank. Under an Independent Research and Development (IRAD) program, the tank was tested at the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center by a NASA/ASRC Aerospace Corp./Lockheed Martin team. Source: Lockheed Martin Corp.