A NEW SHUTTLE; Nasa tests rocket to go to the Moon.. but will Obama give go-ahead?Byline: LAURA Laura, subject of the love poems of Petrarch. She is thought to be Laura de Noves (1308?–1348), wife of Hugo de Sade, but this has not been proved. Laura Petrarch’s perpetual, unattainable love. [Ital. Lit. ARMSTRONG NASA'S mission to return astronauts to the moon finally took flight yesterday - but it still may not be the next giant step for mankind. The first new rocket in almost 30 years launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 11.30am local time. The 327ft Ares I-X Ares I-X will be a test flight in the Ares I spacecraft development program. The test flight vehicle will be similar to the planned Ares I. The flight is scheduled for April 2009. craft is a prototype designed to replace the Space Shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. . As it speared skywards sky·ward adv. & adj. At or toward the sky. sky  wards adv.Adv. 1. , the project's manager Jeff Hanley said: "Oh man... well how impressive is that?" Nasa's hopes now rest with President Obama. Its experts say the Ares I-X will be ready to carry astronauts to the International Space Station in 2015. Any moon-landing would inevitably be years beyond that. But the White House is currently examining the entire human spaceflight “Space travel” redirects here. For travel in space as a tourist, see Space tourism. A human spaceflight is a spaceflight with a human crew, and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike robotic space probes or remotely-controlled satellites. programme and may even dump the Ares I-X in favour of another type of rocket and possibly another destination. And advisers have already warned President Obama that the Ares project will need vastly increased funding if it is to proceed as planned. Yesterday's flight, which cost pounds 300million, lasted just two minutes. Lift-off came 48 years and one day after the first launch of the first Saturn rockets, which later carried America's astronauts to the moon during the Apollo program. Nearly twice the height of the Shuttle, the skinny experimental rocket carried no passengers or payload, only throwaway throwaway See for your information (FYI). ballast bal·last n. 1. Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship or the gondola of a balloon to enhance stability. 2. a. Coarse gravel or crushed rock laid to form a bed for roads or railroads. b. and hundreds of sensors. It reached a maximum altitude of around 28 miles before the first-stage solid-fuel booster burnt out. As it plummeted to earth, parachutes opened to drop the booster into the Atlantic where recovery ships waited. A large crowd gathered at Cape Kennedy Cape Kennedy: see Cape Canaveral, Fla. to watch the launch. The Ares I-X had been due to lift off on Tuesday, but the attempt was halted due to bad weather. And yesterday eager spectators had to wait for more than three hours for the skies to clear. They gasped with delight when a circular cloud of vapour developed around the pencil-shaped rocket as it burst through the sound barrier Launch controllers had to retest the rocket systems before take off after more than 150 lightning strikes were reported around the pad overnight. The flight was not intended to reach space but to test technology crucial for the development of a manned craft. It will take months to analyse all the data it gathered. After it was over, launch director Ed Mango told his team: "Think about what we just did. Our first flight test and the only thing we're waiting on was weather." CAPTION(S): ON CLOUD NINE Ares rocket hits the speed of sound FLY ME TO MOON First Saturn rocket UP WE GO Ares I-X takes off yesterday |
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