Louisiana called a state of emergency and put the National Guard on standby, preparing for a possibly devastating hurricane Gustav. Currently at wind speeds just below hurricane threshold, Gustav will probably pick up a lot of energy after passing between Cuba and Mexico and entering the warm and deep Gulf waters.

Meanwhile, gas prices are rising as some fear another Katrina-like disaster. The Gulf area is home to 4,000 oil rigs and half of America's refining capacity. Workers were already being evacuated from some oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm has already taken 22 lives in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Gustav is getting stronger, most likely going to become a Category 3 hurricane, and possibly heading for Florida, which could determine NASA to delay its much-expected, highly—anticipated Hubble Telescope repair mission. The launch is scheduled for October 8th.

Seven astronauts will take off in the Atlantis with the mission to equip Hubble with new gear. The new science instruments and devices will enable the Hubble Space Telescope to continue functioning until at least 2013. The crew will resume preparations for the upcoming mission on Monday at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Tropical Depression Seven formed a few days back over the Central Caribbean Sea. The low pressure system had initially winds up to 35mph, just a few miles per hour short of becoming Tropical Storm Gustav. The system formed somewhere about 260 miles southeast of Port au Prince, Haiti.