The US space agency, NASA, has planned to test launch a prototype rocket this week in order to examine the possibility of a manned trip to the Moon and maybe beyond to Mars.
The spectators are going to flock at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 8:00 am (1200 GMT) on Tuesday to watch the Ares I-X rocket blasting off into the air.
"It's going to look pretty spectacular," said Bob Ess, NASA's Ares I-X project manager, according to Space.com.
The Ares I-X will have a short journey of about two-minutes and 30-seconds.
Yet the rocket designed to replace NASA's aging shuttle fleet will send back a stream of information to scientists on earth collected by its 700 built-in sensors.
According to NASA, it is "an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I."
The brand new rocket is the brainchild of NASA scientists who have worked on a human space flight program called Constellation.
The program is going to create 'Orion', the space shuttle's successor that by 2017 would carry astronauts into space in a bid to return to the Moon and later make a first human trip to Mars, AFP has reported.
The rocket measures 327 feet (99.6 meters) — 33 feet (10 meters) taller than the Statue of Liberty in New York.
An Open Letter to Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan
9 years ago
The future of human space exploration looks bleak. After making great leaps 50 years ago, stagnation has taken over. No human has left Earth orbit in 37 years, and NASA's current unambitious goals look to be further delayed or scaled back.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.watchinghistory.com/2009/11/future-of-space-exploration.html