The National Aeronautics and Space Administration this week sent one of the world’s tallest rockets into space in a key test of the launch vehicle slated to return astronauts to the moon. The 327-foot-tall Ares 1-X rocket, part of the Constellation program that will replace the space shuttle fleet, blasted off from Cape Canaveral on a two-minute flight that carried it 30 miles above the Earth.
The launch comes as NASA and Congress await President Obama’s request on funding for the agency. If the Constellation program is adequately financed, NASA officials say they will be ready to launch a moon mission in 2015. That will leave a five-year gap in manned missions; the shuttle program is slated to end next year.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 exclusive cartoons about Trump and Putin negotiating peaceCartoons Artists take on alternative timelines, missing participants, and more
-
The AI arms raceTalking Point The fixation on AI-powered economic growth risks drowning out concerns around the technology which have yet to be resolved
-
Why Jannik Sinner's ban has divided the tennis worldIn the Spotlight The timing of the suspension handed down to the world's best male tennis player has been met with scepticism
