New moon rocket may have been success, but experts say no way to returning to moon.
PROMONTORY, Utah (AP) — The first test of NASA's powerful new moon rocket has gone off without a problem.
More than a million pounds of propellant ignited in a split second during the Thursday test, sending an enormous cloud of sand and dust high into the northern Utah sky.
For more than two minutes, flames shot out the end of the horizontal rocket, which was anchored to the ground.
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NASA and contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc. said they were pleased with the test.
The Ares I rocket is the centerpiece of a plan started by former President George W. Bush to return astronauts to the moon by 2020.
But a panel of experts appointed by the White House say there's not enough money for the plan, and if NASA still wants to go to the moon, it recommended abandoning the Ares I.
A faulty computer part about the size of a hardback book was to blame for a canceled test last month of the main part of NASA's powerful new moon rocket, NASA and a private contractor said Thursday.
With a replacement part in place, Alliant Techsystems Inc. planned a new test later in the day of a rocket designed to shoot a crew more than 30 miles into space in about two minutes.
The test of the $75 million in equipment in northern Utah comes amid new questions about funding for the space program.
The Ares I rocket is the centerpiece of the plan started by former President George W. Bush to return astronauts to the moon by 2020.
But a panel of experts appointed by the White House said there's not enough money for the plan, and if NASA still wants to go to the moon, it recommended abandoning the Ares I.
Alliant officials backed the Ares I on Thursday, touting it as a safe and reliable way to launch crews into space.
"It's an exciting day," Charlie Precourt, a former shuttle astronaut and vice president of Alliant's space launch systems, said Thursday during a pretest, media visit to the rocket for the media.
Engineers spent the morning checking instrumentation on the 154-foot rocket. At launch, a giant flame is scheduled to shoot down the rocket's interior and ignite 1.5 million pounds of propellant — a solid chemical mixture with the consistency of a pencil eraser — for a two-minute burn.
The test is the first of several expected for the motor design.
A similar test Aug. 27 was scrubbed with just 20 seconds until firing. Immediately after, engineers from across the country began scouring the system in search of the flaw.
"We dropped everything for two weeks," said Pat Lampton, NASA's chief engineer for the Ares first stage test.
The culprit was a 30-year-old component in the ground control unit that helps move nozzle controls that steer a rocket in flight. The piece has been replaced, though it still isn't exactly clear why it failed, Lampton said.
The rocket is intended as a more powerful alternative to the two solid rocket boosters used to launch the space shuttle.
The Ares I first stage is divided into five segments — each packed with propellant — designed to boost a 321-foot-long vehicle and its crew 36 miles into space in about 120 seconds. From there, the rocket would drop away and another engine would take over.