NASA's Ares I passes the first test
This is an artist conception of the Ares I rocket.
(Credit: NASA)According to a report at MediaFlux, NASA has had a successful preliminary design review of the Ares I rocket, which will be responsible for taking its Orion crew into orbit in 2015. The review was conducted by a team of more than 1,100 specialists at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
It was the final step of the design process of the Ares I and according to NASA, was the first critical milestone in more than 35 years of a U.S. rocket responsible for carrying astronauts into space.
This was the first in a long series of reviews to come. NASA uses these reviews to correct all (or as many as possible) of the problems that may appear along the way to completion. When you're dealing with vehicles that have to propel astronauts from the Earth and into the cold silent blackness of space, 1,100 specialists looking over your work is probably a good idea.
The Ares I is part of NASA's Constellation Program, which is a new generation of spacecraft meant to replace the Space Shuttle. In August, NASA was forced to delay a proposed launch of Ares from 2013 to 2015.
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Constellation Program
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