William Atkins
Saturday, 24 October 2009 21:33
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 2
NASA officials approved on Friday, October 23, 2009, the first test flight of its developmental Ares 1 rocket that will eventually take astronauts into space. The Ares 1-X test flight is scheduled to liftoff on Tuesday, October 27, 2009.
The Kennedy Space Center officials declared at its Flight Readiness Review (FRR), held on Friday, that the suborbital development flight test of its Ares 1-X was ready to lift off.
The countdown for the launch begins at 1 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Tuesday. The countdown and launch will be televised live on
NASA TV, beginning at 5 a.m. EDT.
The launch of the Ares 1-X rocket is set to begin at 8 a.m. EDT on Tuesday. However, it has a four-hour window of opportunity from which it can launch.
The Ares 1-X rocket is similar in shape, size, and weight to the real thing, the Ares 1.
[An artist's conception of the Ares-1 rocket launching the Orion space capsule into space. Courtesy of NASA]
The first stage portion of the rocket will be the only part of the rocket tested during this launch.
However, only four-segments will contain actual propellant, with a dummy fifth segment going along for the ride. In an operational flight, the fifth segment on the first stage portion of the rocket houses the First Stage Avionics Module (FSAM).
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