LPI Fully Operational
September 22, 2008
As many of you know, Hurricane Ike plowed through the Galveston–Houston area on Friday and Saturday, September 12 and 13. The LPI sustained minimal damage to the facility, with no wind or water damage to the building, but with quite a few trees down or damaged. Power to the building was down from Friday evening until Monday afternoon. There was some disruption to our web access but we had our site back up and running late on Sunday night, September 14. We apologize to anyone who tried and failed to access our resources over that weekend.
While the LPI fared very well, many of our staff have damaged houses, fences, and trees; the eye of the storm passed right over this area, so we got to experience the intense winds of the eyewall twice, with gusts over 100 mph. Nonetheless, many staff returned to work on Wednesday, and most were back at work on Thursday and Friday. I have to commend the staff here for their commitment to the Institute despite the hardships that they have had to endure (and many still do) over the past week.
Throughout the week, we have received numerous expressions of concern and inquiries about our status. We appreciate the many kind thoughts from the community, and look forward to continuing our service to you and to NASA.
Steve Mackwell
LPI Director
