Posted: Sat, Aug 30, 2008, 8:33 AM ET (1233 GMT)
Two NASA centers are shutting down as a precaution as a potentially strong hurricane heads for the US Gulf Coast. The Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the shuttle's external tanks are assembled, was scheduled to close at midnight Saturday and remain closed through the Labor Day weekend. The Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi closed late Friday afternoon and will reopen "when conditions permit". Both closings are in response to Hurricane Gustav, which, as of Saturday morning, is projected to make landfall early Tuesday on the Louisiana coast west of New Orleans.

Related Links:

•  Florida Today article
•  NASA press release about Michoud
•  NASA press release about Stennis