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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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Ares Test Rocket Blasts Off

Possible space shuttle replacement launches after long delay

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(Newser) – NASA’s Ares I-X test rocket finally blasted off this morning, after several delays and a storm-foiled first attempt. The $445 million rocket is the first of its kind, and NASA hopes it’ll eventually replace the space shuttle and take astronauts to the moon. Originally it was supposed to lift off at 8 am, but engineers had to check for damage after a night that brought an estimated 154 lightning strikes within 5 miles of the rocket.

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.   (AP Photo/John Raoux)
The Ares I-X launches in this YouTube screenshot.
The Ares I-X launches in this YouTube screenshot.
The Ares I-X test rocket lifts off successfully from Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral
The Ares I-X test rocket lifts off successfully from Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral   (AP Photo/John Raoux)
The Ares I-X test rocket lifts off successfully from Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009.
The Ares I-X test rocket lifts off successfully from Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009.   (AP Photo/John Raoux)
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9 comments
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stacysaw
Oct 28, 09 11:02 AM CDT
we already did the moon! what happened to the plans for mars!? or saturn maybe? sighhh. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
laslow
Oct 28, 09 11:24 AM CDT
A space station on the moon may be one of the next steps in getting to Mars. Oh and Saturn, being a gas giant, can't exactly be landed on. It would be like a plane trying to land on a cloud. Saturn's moons on the other hand, that would be more realistic.
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IN RESPONSE:
stacysaw
Oct 28, 09 11:30 AM CDT
i'd heard that saturn's moons have lakes of hydrogen or nitrogen (?) my memory fails me. i'm all for scientific exploration, i guess i'm just one of those people that also watches the cost of these projects and gets squeamish. keeping my feet on the ground and reaching for the stars, as the saying goes. :-)
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IN RESPONSE:
pwnage
Oct 28, 09 11:55 AM CDT
Yeah, I understand the cost thing, but the money stays here on earth - it just get's moved around from tax payers to jobs that people have working on this stuff.
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+3
IN RESPONSE:
Rob
Oct 28, 09 1:44 PM CDT
@ stacy Liquid methane.
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