Hurricane Could Delay Shuttle Launch

Gustav Could Slow Hubble Telescope Rescue Mission

By GINA SUNSERI Aug. 26, 2008

The long-anticipated Hubble Telescope repair mission could be delayed by Hurricane Gustav, watchful NASA officials told ABCNews.com.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis is supposed to roll out to the launch pad just after midnight Saturday, but not if bad weather is headed anywhere near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Atlantis is scheduled to launch Oct. 8 for the highly anticipated mission to repair and improve the Hubble Space Telescope.

Gustav is a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 90 mph and even stronger gusts. The National Hurricane Center warned this morning that Gustav is growing stronger and could be a Category 2 hurricane by the time it smashes into Haiti later today, which means it would be packing winds of about 100 mph.

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