NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Test in Development of NASA's New Crew Rocket is Successful

A full-scale separation test of the forward skirt extension for the Ares I-X flight test at its facility in Promontory, Utah. Image Credit: NASA/ATK

The development of NASA's next-generation crew launch vehicle, the Ares I rocket, took another step forward on Jan. 29, 2009, as Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, successfully tested a critical piece. ATK conducted a full-scale separation test of the forward skirt extension for the Ares I-X flight test at its facility in Promontory, Utah. The Ares I-X test launch is scheduled to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida during 2009.

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Artist concept of Ares I-X rocket. Image Credit: NASA

NASA's first test flight for the agency's next-generation spacecraft and launch vehicle system is launching in 2009. The test flight, called Ares I-X, will bring NASA one step closer to its exploration goals -- to return to the moon for more ambitious exploration of the lunar surface and to travel to Mars and destinations beyond.

More Information
> Ares I-X Fact Sheet (PDF, 397 KB)
> Ares I-X Mission Specifications (PDF, 8 MB)
> Management Bios
> Ares I-X Integration Map (PDF, 4 MB)