Last week, NASA test fired a new rocket.
The Ares 1 -X was the
first non- shuttle rocket launched from
Kennedy Space Center since the
Saturn launched humans to Earth
orbit and the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s.
NASA is testing Ares as a
prelude to replacing the aging space shuttle fleet.
The tremendous thrust of the
Ares 1-X can bring the massive rocket from a standing start to a
vertical speed of over 100 kilometers per hour in under eight seconds.
The test rocket launched last week was longer than a
football field and covered with over 700 sensors to record data that will enable engineers to refine details of future Ares rockets.
Pictured above, the
Ares 1-X blasts into space while the top part of the rocket becomes engulfed in a
shock collar of water droplets likely created by the sudden drop of air pressure.
