After a series of issues yesterday the Ares 1-X, the next generation in NASA rocket technology launched today Wednesday 28 at 11:30 a.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a two-minute powered flight. The flight test lasted about six minutes from its launch from the newly modified Launch Pad 39B until splashdown of the rocket’s booster stage nearly 150 miles downrange.

Ares 1-X launches

“This is a huge step forward for NASA’s exploration goals,” said Doug Cooke, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Ares I-X provides NASA with an enormous amount of data that will be used to improve the design and safety of the next generation of American spaceflight vehicles — vehicles that could again take humans beyond low Earth orbit.”

Missed the launch? Thank goodness for youtube….