Turtle egg rescue at space center billed success

(AP) -- The turtle rescue effort at NASA's Kennedy Space Center is winding down.

Nearly 300 sea turtle nests were trucked to the space center from the Gulf Coast in July and August. Wildlife officials organized the relocation because of fears the oil spill might endanger the hatchlings.

The shipment of nests ended last month after the Gulf of Mexico was deemed safe for the sea turtle hatchlings.

Biologist Jane Provancha (pro-VAN'-cha) said Wednesday that she expects to release the final batch of hatchlings into the Atlantic near Cape Canaveral this week.

Provancha says at least 15,000 hatchlings have been released from the more than 28,000 eggs that were transported to Kennedy. That's a 50-percent-plus success rate, slightly better than in the wild.