"Next Generation" rocket launched
Cool news.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — NASA successfully launched the prototype for a new generation of space rocket, advancing its plans to return man to the Moon by 2020.
The Ares I-X, the tallest rocket in the world, blasted off at 11:30 am from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying with it the US space agency's lofty ambitions for human space flight.
The rocket is the prototype of the Ares I, designed to carry a new capsule-shaped crew module called the Orion into low Earth orbit for missions to the International Space Station, the Moon, and beyond.
"I can't say enough about this team," said Doug Cooke, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington. "They've been together probably a little over three years now, and they went from a concept to flying this vehicle in that period of time, which is the first time this has been done by a human spaceflight team in a long time."
After a frustrating Tuesday, when several attempts to launch were abandoned, the clouds finally parted long enough for the syringe-like rocket to shoot up into the blue sky above the Kennedy Space Center.
The booster section of the 327-foot (100-meter) rocket separated from a simulated upper stage after two and a half minutes before dropping to Earth and splashing down in the Atlantic awaiting retrieval.
"It's the most beautiful rocket launch I have ever seen," said program director Jeff Hanley when the applause had died down in the NASA control room. "I get tears in my eyes. It was very special."
More than 700 sensors should provide engineers with important data for fine-tuning the design of the rocket that with Orion is intended to replace NASA's aging fleet of space shuttles, which is due to be retired in 2010.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — NASA successfully launched the prototype for a new generation of space rocket, advancing its plans to return man to the Moon by 2020.
The Ares I-X, the tallest rocket in the world, blasted off at 11:30 am from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying with it the US space agency's lofty ambitions for human space flight.
The rocket is the prototype of the Ares I, designed to carry a new capsule-shaped crew module called the Orion into low Earth orbit for missions to the International Space Station, the Moon, and beyond.
"I can't say enough about this team," said Doug Cooke, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington. "They've been together probably a little over three years now, and they went from a concept to flying this vehicle in that period of time, which is the first time this has been done by a human spaceflight team in a long time."
After a frustrating Tuesday, when several attempts to launch were abandoned, the clouds finally parted long enough for the syringe-like rocket to shoot up into the blue sky above the Kennedy Space Center.
The booster section of the 327-foot (100-meter) rocket separated from a simulated upper stage after two and a half minutes before dropping to Earth and splashing down in the Atlantic awaiting retrieval.
"It's the most beautiful rocket launch I have ever seen," said program director Jeff Hanley when the applause had died down in the NASA control room. "I get tears in my eyes. It was very special."
More than 700 sensors should provide engineers with important data for fine-tuning the design of the rocket that with Orion is intended to replace NASA's aging fleet of space shuttles, which is due to be retired in 2010.
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posted by Danielle @ 11:00 PM
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