HOUSTON -- Hurricane Ike has delayed the scheduled Friday arrival of a
Russian Progress cargo ship at the International Space Station 220
miles above Earth.

The Progress docking was postponed when the space station's control
room at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston was closed Thursday
because of the approaching storm.

Control of the space station was handed to flight controllers at
backup facilities near Austin, Texas, and Huntsville, Ala. Because
the Mission Control Center in Houston is responsible for commanding
many of the station's systems, U.S. and Russian officials agreed to
delay the docking.

Russian flight controllers will execute a maneuver to place the
Progress spacecraft into a safe orbit away from the station until
docking, which is planned for Wednesday, Sept. 17. If Johnson's
control center is not restored to full capability for docking, one of
the backup facilities may be used to command the station's systems.

Station Commander Sergei Volkov and Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko
and Greg Chamitoff are awaiting the arrival of the cargo ship. The
spacecraft is carrying more than 2 tons of supplies, including food
and fuel.

NASA Television may offer coverage of the Progress' arrival. For NASA
TV schedule updates, downlinks, and streaming video information,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv