NASA launches Ares I-X rocket on test flight

Computerworld - After more than a dozen delays over a 24-hour period due to bad weather, NASA successfully launched its new Ares I-X rocket this morning on its first test flight.

The rocket, which is designed to replace the aging space shuttle fleet and eventually carry humans to the moon and then Mars, lifted off for its two-minute trip at 11:30 a.m. ET today. NASA reported that the Ares I-X relayed a constant stream of data back to engineers on the ground about the rocket's hardware and ascent.

Two minutes into the flight, the rocket's upper stage simulator and first stage separated at approximately 130,000 feet above the Atlantic ocean. The simulator splashed down in the ocean, while the first stage was designed for a controlled ocean landing using parachutes. NASA sent ships to recover the first stage.

The space agency said on its Web site that the launch is expected to "bring NASA one step closer to its exploration goals." The Ares I-X rocket is expected to become NASA's main vehicle once the space shuttles are retired. NASA has been planning to set up a lunar human outpost by 2020 and has been looking ahead to landing on Mars, as well.

With ,a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/flighttests/aresIx/09-10-23-1.html">more than 700 sensors onboard, the Ares I-X weighs in at 1.8 million pounds and stands 327 feet high. It launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Ares I-X rocket combines technology from several different operations. According to NASA, the rocket's four first-stage, solid-fuel booster segments come from the space shuttle program. A booster segment contains Atlas V-based avionics, and the rocket's roll control system comes from the Peacekeeper missile.

The launch abort system, simulated crew and service modules, upper stage, and various connecting structures were built specifically for the Ares I-X.

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