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NASA: Booster Rocket Damaged In Test Flight
The booster rocket use in a test flight Wednesday was damaged when it fell into the Atlantic Ocean, NASA says.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (October 29, 2009)--The booster rocket used in a test flight Wednesday was badly dented when it fell into the Atlantic, NASA said Thursday.
The new Ares I-X rocket was launched on a brief flight Wednesday.
NASA officials said they discovered that the first-stage booster was dented near the bottom after it was recovered from the ocean.
NASA spokesman Allard Beutel says there's still no official word on whether all three parachutes on the booster deployed properly.
A parachute failure could account for the damage.
The Ares I-X is a prototype of what's supposed to replace the space shuttles and ultimately fly to the moon.
The White House, though, may nix those plans.
Shuttle managers, meanwhile, have chosen Nov. 16 for the launch of Atlantis on a space station mission.
