Security Extra Tight for Shuttle Launch

Security for Thursday’s launch of the space shuttle Columbia, carrying the first Israeli astronaut, is so tight that even the Israelis say they have seen nothing like it.

When Columbia lifts off -- the exact time has yet to be announced for security reasons -- the Kennedy Space Center is expected to be as well defended as many nations, with warships, fighter jets and combat helicopters patrolling the air and sea in a 35-mile perimeter around the ocean-side launchpad.

Black-uniformed commandos guard the seven astronauts, who will see few people except space officials and their own families until liftoff.

Israeli air force Col. Ilan Ramon and six U.S. astronauts, led by shuttle commander Rick Husband, are to spend 16 days in orbit doing around-the-clock science aboard the orbiter.

High alert has become routine for shuttle missions and NASA said the forces marshaled for this launch are typical of those seen since the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

But for this liftoff, even nearby Cocoa Beach has come under highly visible security, with added police patrols, car searches and even police on horseback capable of chasing suspects across the sandy beaches.

“We were quite surprised about the very strict security,” said Aby Har-Evan, director general of the Israeli Space Agency, on hand for the launch. “I cannot compare it with anything else. I know that in Israel we also have problems [but] we don’t have security restrictions like here.”

Har-Evan told reporters that when he left his hotel for dinner Monday he found himself followed by two policemen. “I am not used to this,” he said. “It was very impressive.”

A space shuttle fully loaded with fuel could explode with the impact of a small nuclear bomb, but security experts say that it is highly unlikely.

Even small single-engine aircraft that accidentally wander into the no-fly zone around the Cape are intercepted by F-15s.

But Dave Saleeba, head of NASA security and a former Secret Service official charged with guarding the president, said that security outside the Kennedy Space Center could be the Achilles’ heel in the protection plan.

Anyone setting off a bomb in a hotel or on one of the bridges in the area could have the effect of ratcheting up security at the space center to such levels that the shuttle would have to be grounded.

NASA says the added security has been purely precautionary. Saleeba said that no credible threat against the shuttle has developed, but under the circumstances, “we’re dealing with the belligerent drunks more seriously than we used to.”