WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it has delayed the scheduled Friday arrival of a Russian cargo ship at the International Space Station because of Hurricane Ike.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials said the docking was postponed when the space station 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.," NASA said in a statement. "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."

The space agency said Russian controllers will execute a maneuver to place the Progress cargo spacecraft into a safe orbit away from the station until docking, which is now planned for next Wednesday. If Johnson's control center is not restored to full capability by then a backup facility might be used to command the station's systems, NASA said.

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