Cocaine found at Nasa's shuttle base

Nasa is investigating how a bag of cocaine got into the hangar that houses space shuttle Discovery at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

Nasa spokesman Allard Beutel said the bag contained a tiny amount of the illegal substance. It was found by a worker in a secure part of the Cape Canaveral hangar that is accessible by about 200 Nasa employees and contractors.

Nasa is drug testing and interviewing workers, as well as using drug-sniffing dogs.

Mr Beutel says there is no problem with any of Discovery’s hardware, nor is there any indication that any employees were under the influence while working in the facility.

Discovery is being prepared for a mission in March.