The US space agency NASA has successfully launched the Ares I-X, the next generation of space rockets that will eventually replace the ageing space shuttle fleet, scheduled for retirement in 2010.

NASA's Constellation programme aims to send astronauts back to the moon by 2010, and then perhaps to Mars and other destinations in the solar system. The launch, from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral Florida, had been postponed a number of times due to inclement weather.

According to a NASA statement, the test flight lasted about six minutes and the more than 700 sensors on board will provide engineers with important new data for fine tuning the design of the rocket. The 100 metre rocket is the tallest ever built and is a prototype for the Ares I, designed to carry the new Orion crew module into a low orbit and transport astronauts to the International space Station, the moon and perhaps beyond.
 

However, it is uncertain if the project will ever reach fruition as the programme has suffered major development problems and costs for the Constellation project have skyrocketed; the initial budget was 19 billion euros but it now stands at 29.9 billion euros. Last week, an independent commission advised the White House to cancel the programme as it "appears to be on an unsustainable trajectory". The Augustine Commission proposed a number of alternatives including developing Ares V rockets.