Image above: Category 5 Hurricane Felix is pictured churning through the Caribbean

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International Space Station crew observes Hurricane Felix

The Expedition 15 crew was able to view Hurricane Felix over two orbital passes this weekend.

During the first pass Felix was churning through the Caribbean as a category 5 storm with winds up to 165 miles per hour. During the second pass Felix was nearing Honduras and Nicaragua with slightly weaker winds.

After a quiet weekend, the crew is back to work preparing for a test of a navigation system. The navigation system will help guide the Automated Transfer Vehicle when it docks to the International Space Station early next year.

Dubbed “Jules Verne” the new cargo vehicle was built by the European Space Agency and is planned for launch no earlier than January 31, 2008.