Astronauts at Space Station don't like Hurricane Ike

William Atkins
Saturday, 13 September 2008 20:22

Science - Space

Russian space officials agreed to delay the docking of its Progress cargo ship based on the weather problems incurred at Houston’s Mission Control.

Flight controllers with the Russian Federal Space Agency (RSA) conducted a maneuver that inserted the Progress M-65 spacecraft into a steady orbit away from the ISS until the docking can be re-scheduled.

However, if flight controllers at the Johnson Space Center are unable to control the docking on Wednesday, due to continuing power losses from the storm at their facility, one of NASA’s backup facilities will perform the docking.

International Space Station Russian commander Sergei Volkov, Russian flight engineer Oleg Kononenko, and American flight engineer Greg Chamitoff are currently at the Space Station. The cargo ship is carrying over two tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 17 crew.

As of 8:15 a.m. CDT (local Houston time) on Saturday, September 13, 2008, the Johnson Space Center remains closed, and it will remain closed through the weekend due to the continuing threats from Hurricane Ike.

According to the JSC Emergency Operations Center, “Hurricane Ike made landfall in Galveston, Texas early Saturday and moved onshore through the greater Houston area. A 65-member team that rode out the storm at NASA's Johnson Space Center will assess the condition of Johnson when it is safe to do so. The International Space Station continues to be controlled by NASA flight controllers who were dispatched to the Austin, Texas, area and Huntsville, Ala., prior to the onset of the storm. It is too early to know what effect, if any, the hurricane will have on upcoming space shuttle launches.”