海角大神

础听测别补谤听补蹿迟别谤听NASA聽ended聽the聽three-decade-long聽U.S.聽space聽shuttle聽program,聽thousands聽of formerly聽well-paid聽engineers聽and other workers around the Kennedy聽Space聽Center are still struggling to find jobs to replace the careers that flourished when聽shuttles聽blasted off from the Florida "厂辫补肠别听颁辞补蝉迟."

Some have headed to South Carolina to build airplanes in that state's growing industry, and others have moved as far as Afghanistan to work as government contractors. Some found lower-paying jobs beneath their technical skills that allowed them to stay. Many are still looking for work and cutting back on things like driving and utilities to save money.

"Nobody wants to hire the old guy," said Terry White, a 62-year-old聽former聽project manager who worked 33聽years聽for theshuttle聽program聽until he was laid off after Atlantis landed last July 21. "There just isn't a lot of work around here. Or if so, the wages are really small."

White earned more than $100,000 a聽year聽at the聽end聽of his career at the聽space聽center. The prospects of finding a job that pays anywhere near that along the聽Space聽Coast are slim.

"I could take an $11-an-hour job that is 40 miles away," he said "But with gas prices and all that, it's not really worthwhile."

More than 7,400 people, who once had labored on one of history's most complicated聽engineering聽achievements, lost their jobs when the聽shuttle聽program聽ended聽last July. While other聽shuttle聽workers in Houston, New Orleans and Huntsville, Alabama, lost jobs, those areas had bigger economies to absorb the workers. In less economically diverse Brevard County, the mainly contractor positions cut by聽NASA聽accounted for just under 5 percent of the county's private sector jobs.

The Kennedy聽Space聽Center's current workforce of 8,500 workers is the smallest in more in than 35聽years. In the middle of the last decade, the聽space聽center employed around 15,000 workers.

James Peek, a 48-year-old quality inspector for the聽shuttles, has applied for 50 positions with no success since he was laid off in October 2010. He has taken odd jobs glazing windows for a luxury hotel in Orlando and working as a security guard. He has no health insurance and incurred a $13,000 bill when he was hospitalized for three days last May.

"With most companies, it's like your application goes into a black hole," Peek said. "We're struggling to stay afloat."

Jobless聽space聽workers have signed up for Brevard Workforce's job placement and training services. Slightly more than half of the 5,700 workers the agency has been able to track have found jobs, but more than a quarter of those positions were outside Florida. Those jobs have been in the fields of聽engineering, mechanics and security, according to the agency.

Brevard County's unemployment rate spiked in the months that the聽shuttle聽program聽wound down, going from 10.6 percent in April 2011 to 11.7 percent in August 2011. It has since declined to 9 percent, a result of a smaller workforce as manyformer聽shuttle聽workers either moved away or retired earlier than planned. Brevard County has added 2,700 jobs since the beginning of the聽year, but many are in the southern part of the 72-mile (116-kilometer)-long county where information technology giant Harris Corp. and airplane-maker Embraer are located. Jobless聽space聽workers in the northern part of the county jokingly refer to those high-tech workers as "their rich cousins."

Some local employers are finding that the聽former聽space聽workers' salary demands are sometimes too high.

"STOP sending聽former聽Space聽Center employees," one employer wrote to Brevard Workforce, the local job agency, in a comment included in its monthly committee report. "They have an unrealistic salary expectation."

Taxpayer money allocated for job training聽programs聽for displaced聽space聽shuttle聽workers also is dwindling a聽year聽after theprogram聽ended.

Adding to the difficulties of finding a new job is the age of many of the聽former聽shuttle聽workers. Many spent their entire careers working on the聽space聽shuttles聽and are now in their 50s and 60s.

In between sending out resumes and meeting at networking events, many of the聽space聽workers are volunteering at KennedySpace聽Center, giving tours to dignitaries and providing oral histories to tourists who stop by the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Even though many of the older聽space聽workers like White had聽years聽to plan for the聽end聽of the聽shuttle聽program, they stuck around, hoping to prepare the orbiters for displays in museums in Florida, Los Angeles and Washington after theprogram聽ended. They expected younger聽shuttle聽workers to move over to the successor Constellation聽program聽whose goal was to send astronauts to the moon and then Mars. But the cancellation of the Constellation聽program聽in 2010 increased the competition for those few jobs left prepping the聽shuttles.

Some聽shuttle聽workers, such as Kevin Harrington, had been holding out hope that the聽program聽announced after Constellation's demise 鈥� a heavy-lift rocket system that would launch astronauts in an Orion聽space聽capsule 鈥� would offer immediate widespread job opportunities. But the plans announced last聽year聽won't have unmanned test launches of the聽Space聽Launch System for another five聽years, and the first manned mission won't be for about another decade.

Private-sector companies, such as Paypal founder Elon Musk's聽Space聽X, are starting unmanned launches from Kennedy聽SpaceCenter, but their need for workers doesn't come close to what was required for the聽shuttle聽program.

"We expected a little more action from our government, at least in figuring out what direction we're going to go in," said Harrington, 55, who worked on the聽shuttles' thermal protection system earning about $80,000 a聽year. "Ultimately, that would inform which direction we would go in. A lot of聽us聽thought, since we have such deep roots in the community, we could wait it out. It was hopeful at first. Now it isn't so hopeful. Things aren't moving fast."

Many of the聽former聽space聽workers find camaraderie and job tips each Friday at the weekly breakfast of the Spacecoast Technical Network, a group created by聽former聽Kennedy聽Space聽Center workers. Just hours before 70 members dined on eggs, biscuits and coffee at a recent meeting, three Chinese astronauts parachuted back to Earth in a capsule halfway around the world. For the聽space聽workers, it was yet another sign of the growing competition facing the United States as a leader of聽spaceexploration. At the moment, the United States has no way of sending astronauts to聽space聽in its own vehicles, and聽NASA聽is relying on the Soviet-made Soyuz capsules to send聽U.S. astronauts to the international聽space聽station.

One of the network's founders, Bill Bender, recently joined more than two dozen other colleagues working on a reconnaissance project for a contractor in Afghanistan where they are earning six-figure annual incomes.

Bender had been out of work for about a聽year聽from his job on the cancelled Constellation聽program聽when he took the one-year contract to work halfway around the world.

"As the months passed, I began to realize the hard reality that things I had known and taken for granted no longer existed. Stable work, good pay, benefits, etc. were no longer a reasonable expectation," Bender wrote in a recent email from Afghanistan. "As time went by and it was getting closer to a聽year聽without a job ... the (Afghan) opportunity looked better and better. The money was very good due to compensation for hardship and danger."

Those who have remained on the聽Space聽Coast without jobs are cutting back on small luxuries. Harrington has trimmed back on eating out and vacations.

Al Schmidt, who worked 27聽years聽at the聽space聽center, has cut back on using his car and utilities at home to save money. The 60-year-old's unemployment benefits are running out soon, and without a new聽U.S.聽space聽program聽offering ready-to-go jobs, he is contemplating retirement, something he doesn't want to do.

"I live day to day. I can't afford new cars or lots of groceries," Schmidt said. "From where I sit, there is nothing coming online soon enough to resolve my problem."

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