NASA sets Oct. 8 date for shuttle's Hubble mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- NASA's final visit to the Hubble Space Telescope is now set for Oct. 8.

Atlantis and a crew of seven were supposed to fly to Hubble at the end of August, but the mission was delayed because of extra time needed to build the shuttle fuel tanks required for the flight and a potential rescue mission.

NASA on Thursday set the new launch date for Atlantis, and also pushed back space shuttle Endeavour's supply mission to the international space station from Oct. 16 to Nov. 10.

The Atlantis crew will repair and upgrade the 18-year-old Hubble telescope. Under the Hubble mission plan, NASA needs a second shuttle waiting to launch at Kennedy Space Center in case of an emergency.

The space shuttle Discovery is set to launch May 31 to deliver and install Japan's massive lab, Kibo, at the space station.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)