Anyone who has seen a launch at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida knows the agency\u2019s pursuit of the stars involves some smoke and fire. Sometimes, however, the smoke doesn\u2019t come from the rockets that propel astronauts beyond Earth\u2019s bounds.<\/p>\n
That was the case during the second weekend of January 2026, when NASA teamed up with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and commercial space partners to intentionally ignite around 2,600 acres of scrub habitat at NASA Kennedy during an active launch countdown, a first for the busiest spaceport in the world.<\/p>\n
Staff from NASA Kennedy\u2019s Spaceport Integration Directorate oversaw two prescribed burns conducted by the Service. The larger burn affected around 1,400 acres on the northeast corner of the center, known as Happy Creek \u2014 a key habitat for the federally protected Florida scrub-jay and other wildlife that rely on periodic wildfires to thrive.<\/p>\n
The other prescribed burn affected a 1,200-acre section east of Kennedy Parkway and south of the center\u2019s industrial zone, near the spaceport\u2019s seven-story headquarters building, as well as iconic facilities critical to NASA\u2019s past and future space efforts like the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building and the Space Systems Processing Facility.<\/p>\n
Historically, the center paused launch operations when using fire as a land management tool within NASA Kennedy\u2019s secure area or the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which surrounds it. However, with Kennedy\u2019s spaceport surpassing 100 successful liftoffs<\/a> for the first time in 2025, and with the launch cadence expected to continue climbing in the years to come<\/a>, officials at both agencies recognized the need to adapt.<\/p>\n \u201cAs more launches occur at Kennedy, the need for proper land management at the refuge has never been greater,\u201d said Greg Gaddis, the center\u2019s senior operations manager for the spaceport. \u201cWe must find new ways to lessen the amount of fire fuel on the ground while also keeping pace with the launch needs of our government and commercial partners. Otherwise, an unexpected lightning bolt or some other fire-starter could be catastrophic for America\u2019s space ambitions, as well as the private space industry.\u201d<\/p>\n The increasing launch cadence is one of many factors the prescribed burn manager \u2014 also known as the burn boss \u2014 must consider when deciding when and where to conduct a prescribed burn at the spaceport. Another critical factor is weather conditions, especially during Florida\u2019s dry season, where constant breeze from the nearby Atlantic Ocean can quickly turn a small fire into a large one. This could potentially pose a significant risk to plant and animal species at the refuge, as well as to the center\u2019s launch infrastructure.<\/p>\n Safety remains the paramount concern. The center\u2019s Space Operations Office worked directly with the Service and the launch mission partners during the burn.<\/p>\n Prior to the Service setting prescribed burns with air and land resources, Kennedy officials reviewed forecasted wind patterns and developed plans to protect workers in buildings affected by the smoke. The center issued smoke warnings, temporarily relocated some personnel, and allowed others to work remotely during the burns. The smoke also caused intermittent closures of some of the center\u2019s main roads and entrances throughout the weekend for safety reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cTo do is to learn, and we all learn each day,\u201d said Shawn Sullivan, assistant fire management officer for the Service\u2019s Region 4 and the designated burn boss. \u201cI stood in awe of the people working around me. To listen to the coordination between specialized groups and witness great individual effort was quite an experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Conducting prescribed burns every two or three years is optimal for maintaining the health and resilience of the refuge, especially for wildlife like the Florida scrub-jay, which has adapted to periodic fires. Determining when and where to conduct these burns is one of the most challenging parts for the burn boss and the officials responsible for operating the spaceport. The amount of vegetation in those areas is often a deciding factor when choosing what to burn.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make sure those areas don\u2019t get clogged up, making it more difficult for firefighters to gain access if they have to protect launch pads or any other infrastructure from a wildfire,\u201d Gaddis added. \u201cIt also leaves less fuel a wildfire can use to grow, and that\u2019s always a big help for first responders working to put a fire out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anyone who has seen a launch at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida knows the agency\u2019s pursuit of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460803,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[270],"tags":[18,19,17,7966,133,451,202628],"class_list":{"0":"post-460802","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-kennedy-space-center","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-space","14":"tag-wildland-fire-management"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116491726657502085","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}