spacetoday.net: Hurricane closes JSC, delays Progress docking

Posted: Fri, Sep 12, 2008, 7:39 AM ET (1139 GMT)
A hurricane bearing down on Houston has closed NASA's Johnson Space Center and forced the delay of a cargo spacecraft with the International Space Station. NASA closed JSC at midday Thursday; the center will remain closed through the weekend. The closure of JSC forced NASA and Roskosmos to postpone Friday's scheduled docking of the Progress M-65 spacecraft, launched on Wednesday, because the ISS mission control center at JSC is closed. While backup control centers are in operation in Huntsville and a temporary facility near Austin, Texas, station officials decided it was prudent to postpone the docking until the JSC control center is reopened. The Progress docking is now scheduled for Wednesday, September 17. These actions have all been forced by Hurricane Ike, a category 2 storm that is scheduled to make landfall south of Houston early Saturday morning.