The delay marks the sixth time the 10-day mission to make urgently needed repairs on the Hubble space telescope has been delayed. It was originally scheduled for mid-October.

The dented main propulsion hydrogen line in Discovery's engine compartment will push back the launch to December 16 at 9:18 p.m. (0218 GMT Friday) at the earliest.

The seven astronauts aboard Discovery will return to Earth on December 26 at 6:40 p.m. (2340 GMT), said George Diller, a spokesman for the Kennedy Space Center in Cap Canaveral, Florida.

The last time a space mission zoomed in space during Christmas was the Skylab mission in 1973, and before that it was the first manned flight to the moon in 1968 by the Apollo 8 crew.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials said they will completely replace the 10-centimeter (four-inch) diameter line, which carries liquid hydrogen fuel for the shuttle's main engines. The line is used for lift-off, but not during the flight.

The problem was discovered Wednesday, forcing NASA to postpone the shuttle's planned Saturday launch.

"This is the earliest we can be ready. It's going to take three days to replace the line, then we have retesting to do," Diller said.

Discovery's crew will include two members from the European Space Agency (ESA), Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and Jean-Francois Clervoy of France. During the mission, the astronauts will do four space walks, each lasting six hours, to fix the orbiting telescope.

The mission became urgent after a gyroscope failed on the Hubble, taking it out of commission. Four of the six gyroscopes on Hubble have failed in all. A minimum of three gyroscopes are necessary for the telescope to effectively gather information.

NASA's Shuttle Web Center

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