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NASA Scrubs Rocket's Test Flight

It may try tomorrow if weather permits

By the Associated Press

Posted Oct 27, 2009 10:40 AM CDT

(AP) – NASA's newest rocket will remain on the launch pad today because of clouds and high winds. Officials are deciding whether to try again tomorrow morning. Launch controllers tried repeatedly to get the Ares I-X rocket flying and got to within two-and-a-half minutes before calling it off. Minor problems stalled the countdown earlier in the morning.

The rocket's eventual launch will be the first step in NASA's effort to return astronauts to the moon. The experimental flight is expected to last just two minutes. Parachutes will drop the first-stage booster into the Atlantic for recovery. NASA expects to learn a lot— even if it's for another type of rocket. The test flight comes as the White House is re-evaluating the human spaceflight program.

The sun sets on the Ares I-X rocket, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The sun sets on the Ares I-X rocket, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B in Cape Canaveral, Fla.   (John Raoux)
The Ares I-X test rocket stands ready on Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Oct. 26, 2009.
The Ares I-X test rocket stands ready on Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Oct. 26, 2009.   (John Raoux)
The Ares I-X test rocket stands ready at Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009.
The Ares I-X test rocket stands ready at Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009.   (AP Photo/John Raoux)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 13 comments
JimW
Oct 28, 2009 12:06 PM CDT
Looks like some serious thought is being given to going somewhere other than the moon. Been there, done that. A bigger asteroid, or the moons of Mars are being discussed heavily. And we could do that sooner than a moon mission. At 55, I thought we would be a LOT further along than we are right now. I want to see some serious exploration going on, and soon Expensive? Yep, but we always get a good amount of money back from this kind of stuff. Science, jobs, spoinoff products, etc..
bewilderbeast
Oct 28, 2009 11:49 AM CDT
NOW you're talking! Sustainable energy ON EARTH first. And THEN we can go off yonder using our newfound bounty. Change NASA to NASE* and let's GO!! ------------- (*NEW and SENSIBLE ENERGY)
bewilderbeast
Oct 28, 2009 11:36 AM CDT
splutter, splutter . . . . it's just not the same when a nation doesn't have real PURPOSE.

Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

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