NASA delays Hubble mission by 5 days, Ike blamed

[September 25, 2008]  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- NASA is delaying next month's shuttle launch to the Hubble Space Telescope because of problems stemming from Hurricane Ike and replacement parts for the observatory.

Space shuttle Atlantis is now set to blast off late at night on Oct. 14 for the last visit to the orbiting telescope, officials said Wednesday. Liftoff had been scheduled for the wee hours of Oct. 10, technically making this a five-day postponement.

Senior managers will reassess the launch date next week.

Atlantis' seven astronauts, who wrapped up a practice countdown at the launching site Wednesday, lost a week of training because of Hurricane Ike. The hurricane shut down the Johnson Space Center in Houston, which did not reopen until this week.

Payload problems also contributed to the delay. Last week, NASA had trouble with the insulation on replacement batteries for Hubble and, over the weekend, encountered snags loading the equipment at the launch pad.

The delay also pushes back the launch of Endeavour's space station mission to Nov. 16. Endeavour will serve as the rescue ship for Atlantis, if needed. It is the first time that NASA has ever had a space shuttle on the launch pad, ready to blast off as a rescue ship if there is an emergency.

Tropical storms Fay and Hanna, which held up work at the launch site, prompted NASA earlier this month to put off the Hubble flight by two days. The original launch date was Oct. 8.

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On the Net:

NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/

[Associated Press; By MARCIA DUNN]

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