News - National
NASA's new rocket lifts off on short test flight
Posted: Oct 28, 2009 10:34 AM by Associated Press
Updated: Oct 28, 2009 10:34 AM
NASA's newest rocket has blasted off on a test flight that may pave the way for a return to the moon.
After a one-day weather delay, the Ares I-X rocket rumbled away Wednesday morning from a former shuttle launch pad at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. No people or payloads are on board.
The prototype moon rocket should fly for just two minutes. That's how long it will take for the first-stage booster to burn out. The booster will be recovered from the Atlantic for analysis. The 327-foot rocket is nearly twice as tall as the spaceship it's supposed to replace, the shuttle.
It's the first step in NASA's effort to return astronauts to the moon. The White House, though, is re-evaluating the spaceflight program.
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