Hurricane Gonzalo delayed a resupply launch to the International Space Station — because space agency NASA feared the massive storm would knock out its Bermuda down-range tracking station.

But the space launch — which will take vital supplies to the orbiting space station — was expected to blast off this morning.

Spaceflight Insider said the delay was to allow for damage assessment and potential repairs to the Bermuda down-ranger tracking station.

But it added: “Luckily, nothing was damaged and after reviewing the Bermuda station, it was confirmed that a Monday launch was still possible.”

The hurricane delay followed an earlier decision to push back the launch from Monday, October 20 to allow a few days for ground and space station pre-launch operations to be completed.

The launch — a joint effort by Orbital Sciences Corp and NASA — will send one of Orbital’s Cygnus resupply spacecraft to deliver crew supplies and cargo to the space station.

The flight is to take off from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virgina, with the Cygnus cargo ship flown into space attached to a powerful Antares rocket launch vehicle.

Steven Kremer, chief of the Wallops Range and Mission Management Office, said: “The Wallops Range relies on the Bermuda downrange assets to track and maintain data communications with the Antares rocket during flight and ultimately to ensure public safety during launch operations.”