Ares I-X Launches From KSC
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
By: Tom Parkinson

NASA's newest rocket blasted off this morning on a test flight that may pave the way for astronauts to return to the moon. After a one-day weather delay, the Ares I-X rocket lifted off at 11:30 Wednesday morning from a shuttle launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. The 327-foot tall prototype flew for just over two minutes soaring about 130,000 feet into the Florida sky before falling into the Atlantic. The Ares I-X is equipped with more than 700 sensors. NASA scientists say they expect to gather valuable information from analysis of the recovered booster rocket and flight recorder. The rocket is intended to replace the shuttle sending astronauts to the international space station and, eventually, to the moon. But, in the wake of a critical report from a panel of aerospace experts released last week, the White House is re-evaluating the spaceflight program.