NASA launches Ares 1-X on second try

William Atkins
Wednesday, 28 October 2009 21:35

Science - Space

On Wednesday, October 28, 2009, NASA launched its first test rocket, the Ares 1-X, from its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center on the coast of Florida.


NASA launch control picked up the countdown at 11:26 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), with a count of 4 minutes.

Even though the weather at the launch site was poor throughout the morning, a clearing of the skies allowed the launch to take place.

The liftoff of the prototype Ares 1-X rocket occurred at approximately 11:30 a.m. EDT.

With all eyes on the new rocket for the new Constellation project, the Ares 1-X lifted off with a thunderous roar over the central coast of Florida.

With a little over a minute into the flight, all appears nominal (normal) in the two-minute mission.

"Burn out" occurred on schedule, at 21.9 nautical miles, and a separation also was accomplished on the rocket.

The burn out altitude is not the rocket's peak height above Earth, as it continues to go up from the existing thrust of the rocket.

NASA reports, later, that the rocket appears to be returning to Earth as planned.

At 11:36 a.m. one of the parachutes was verified by NASA as having deployed.

At 11:37 a.m. an upper stage water impact, as verified by NASA, occurred in the Atlantic Ocean.

A NASA spokesperson states that the active part of the mission is now complete, with the recovery phase now in progress.