A train carrying space shuttle parts to the Kennedy Space Center derailed Wednesday in Pennington, Ala.
NASA says a bridge collapsed as the train crossed it, sending two train engines and four railcars off the tracks, and injuring six people on the train.
The collapsed bridge is managed by Genesee and Wyoming railroad.
A company safety official at the accident scene tells News 13 that the bridge had been undergoing maintenance for the past few weeks.
The safety official says the bridge was taken out of service on Sunday for more repairs, and was put back into service Wednesday morning, shortly before the KSC bound train tried to cross.
The train was carrying solid rocket booster segments for the last two space shuttle missions of this year. The white solid rocket boosters provide most of the thrust needed to get it into orbit.
The boosters are the most massive objects ever recovered by parachute. Each booster is more than 12 feet in diameter, 149 feet long from nozzle to nose cone and weigh, at burn out, about 176,000 pounds.
A similar train derailment happened in July 2000 at the Kennedy Space Center.
NASA says the derailed solid rocket booster segments are no danger to the surrounding community. The boosters are filled with a solid fuel that has the consistency of a tire.
The derailment is not expected to delay space shuttle launches.