TW: This is one of those events which received little notice because it worked. If it had failed (as new rockets frequently do) one would have seen snarky reporting ad nausea. That this was the first time in 30 years that we have launched a new rocket speaks volumes especially since the rocket is in many ways a modified solid rocket booster as used on the Shuttle.
Whether we will actually use this rocket remains to be seen. Ares is meant to become the workhorse U.S. manned space launcher since the Shuttle retires next year. We shall see.
From Chicago Tribune:
"The Ares I-X rocket blasted off Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in a picture-perfect launch...The entire mission from launch to splashdown took about six minutes and cost $455 million. It was the first time in nearly 30 years that a new rocket took off from Kennedy Space Center. Nearly twice the height of the space shuttle, the experimental rocket carried no passengers or payload...
What is Ares I-X?
It is a test rocket intended to show NASA engineers how a long, thin, solid-fuel rocket flies through the atmosphere. Its first stage is a version of the pencil-like solid-rocket boosters that help power the space shuttle...
Why was it launched?
To see if a single solid-rocket motor can be put directly under a capsule and steered safely as it zooms through the atmosphere. Ares I-X is the first rocket to use a solid-fuel first stage. Previous rockets -- like the shuttle -- used them on the side as boosters to the main liquid-fuel engines.
So why not fly Ares I?
Ares I is not designed yet and will not be ready to fly until March 2015 at the earliest. The idea is to take information gained from this launch to help refine the Ares I design.
...What happens next?
The president's space panel has cast doubt on whether Ares I will be built. Some White House officials say using commercial rockets to fly astronauts to the space station would make Ares I unnecessary."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-tc-nw-nasa-1028-1029oct29,0,674711.story
Whether we will actually use this rocket remains to be seen. Ares is meant to become the workhorse U.S. manned space launcher since the Shuttle retires next year. We shall see.
From Chicago Tribune:
"The Ares I-X rocket blasted off Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in a picture-perfect launch...The entire mission from launch to splashdown took about six minutes and cost $455 million. It was the first time in nearly 30 years that a new rocket took off from Kennedy Space Center. Nearly twice the height of the space shuttle, the experimental rocket carried no passengers or payload...
What is Ares I-X?
It is a test rocket intended to show NASA engineers how a long, thin, solid-fuel rocket flies through the atmosphere. Its first stage is a version of the pencil-like solid-rocket boosters that help power the space shuttle...
Why was it launched?
To see if a single solid-rocket motor can be put directly under a capsule and steered safely as it zooms through the atmosphere. Ares I-X is the first rocket to use a solid-fuel first stage. Previous rockets -- like the shuttle -- used them on the side as boosters to the main liquid-fuel engines.
So why not fly Ares I?
Ares I is not designed yet and will not be ready to fly until March 2015 at the earliest. The idea is to take information gained from this launch to help refine the Ares I design.
...What happens next?
The president's space panel has cast doubt on whether Ares I will be built. Some White House officials say using commercial rockets to fly astronauts to the space station would make Ares I unnecessary."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-tc-nw-nasa-1028-1029oct29,0,674711.story
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