A giant spider appeared to have attacked the space shuttle Atlantis as it sat ready for lift-off. The beast was caught on camera in these stunning pictures as it descending from the sky before clinging to the shuttle's rocket boosters. NASA has now delayed the launch until January - claiming the rockets had a faulty fuel guage. But the space agency's own cameras show a much more sinister, alien reason for the delay. However, the 'War Of The Worlds' scenario might have a simpler explanation - a tiny insect crawling over the lens of the NASA TV webcam! Pictures: Splash News