Washington  - US space agency NASA on Tuesday postponed moving space shuttle Atlantis to its launch pad because of two tropical storms brewing dangerously close to the Gulf of Mexico.

The shuttle was set to be rolled out Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to a coastal launching pad.

"Atlantis could be rolled to the pad as early as Thursday, depending on the path and strength of Hanna. NASA and Air Force weather officials are also keeping tabs on Tropical Storm Ike," a statement from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

Atlantis is targeted to lift off on October 8 on an 11-day mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, which will remain operational for at least another five years following the upgrades.

"We're monitoring the storms, which could impact the Kennedy Space Centre. We're hoping to move Atlantis to the launch pad by Thursday or at least Saturday," a NASA spokesman said.

"If we manage to shift the shuttle by Sunday, we can still keep to the October 8 lift off date."

As Hurricane Gustav faded Tuesday, a sister storm called Hanna took aim for the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, with Florida and eastern Cuba possible long-range targets.

With maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometres per hour, Hanna was moving west-southwest with increasing speed, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Centre said.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Ike was strengthening over the central Atlantic and moving west with sustained winds of 95 kilometres per hour. (dpa)