Kennedy Space Center will close beginning Friday as Hurricane Irma violently churns in the Atlantic Ocean and bears down on Florida, according to a statement from the NASA spaceport.

Teams met Thursday morning to discuss Irma's approach and decided to close the center until at least Monday as essential personnel make preparations to secure infrastructure and spaceflight hardware.

"Currently a Category 5 hurricane, Irma could potentially bring heavy rain and strong winds to the spaceport," the statement reads.

KSC elevated its readiness from the fourth to the third phase of Hurricane Condition, known as HURCON, Thursday morning. HURCON III includes the securing of facilities and equipment, briefing personnel on when to return to work and creating checklists.

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HURCON II will be established Friday morning, meaning all securing actions must be completed or, if incomplete, stopped.

The center will enter the HURCON I phase 12 hours before the arrival of 58 mph winds. "Rideout teams," which stay behind in the event of a storm, will seek shelter and all gates will be closed. The teams include senior-level managers, a NASA emergency management officer, as well as representatives from contractors, commercial partners and other related organizations.

The last time KSC activated a HURCON phase was when Hurricane Matthew threatened the area in October 2016, but remained far enough off the coast to avoid causing catastrophic damages.

Spaceflight hardware currently on KSC property includes the Orion crew module, which is secured inside the Operations and Checkout Building. The Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft is slated to launch on NASA's Space Launch System rocket in 2019 for the uncrewed Exploration Mission-1.

Also related to the SLS rocket, the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, or ICPS, is located at KSC's Space Station Processing Facility. The stage will sit atop the rocket and under the Orion capsule, flying only once for EM-1.

The Air Force's secretive X-37B mini-shuttle, which is operated by Boeing, is based in two former space shuttle hangars near the Vehicle Assembly Building. The program includes two of the space planes, one of which launched from nearby pad 39A at 10 a.m. Thursday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket – its sister spacecraft could still be in one of the hangars.

At nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, meanwhile, an Atlas V rocket is stacked for an upcoming National Reconnaissance Office mission. Labeled NROL-52, the launch is expected no earlier than Sept. 27.

Officials are expected to announce the closure of the base, which shares the Eastern Range with KSC, Thursday afternoon.

The privately operated Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will also close through Tuesday.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook at @EmreKelly.