How NASA’s Johnson Space Center is riding out the hurricane

Enlarge / An ISS control room at Johnson Space Center.

Surrounded by rising floodwaters, a skeleton crew at NASA’s Johnson Space Center is keeping the lights on for the International Space Station.

About 125 people are riding out Harvey’s devastating flood on-site at Johnson Space Center, or JSC. Those on-site include the ISS Mission Control team, the support team for the James Webb Space Telescope (which is currently at JSC for testing), and the JSC Recovery Team, which has the task of dealing with the storm and its impacts.

“Current work focuses on supporting critical operations, riding out the storm, and addressing minor issues such as fixing leaks and keeping drains open, as they arise,” said a NASA representative, working from home due to the flooding, in an e-mail.