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| NASA launched Wednesday a new rocket it hopes will one day return astronauts to the Moon on a two-minute test flight. The Ares I-X rocket blasted off at 11:30 am (1530 GMT) from Cape Canaveral in Florida after a series of delays due to poor weather conditions. Standing 327 feet (100 meters) tall, the Ares I-X is the longest rocket ever built, and it was the first spacecraft the Kennedy Space Center has launched other than a shuttle in 30 years. The Ares I-X is a prototype of the Ares I, which along with a new exploration vehicle called the Orion is intended to replace NASA's aging shuttle fleet that is due to be retired in 2010. (...) |