 Left, Ares I artist concept. Right, successful launch of a 1:100 scale model of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. Image credit: NASA/MSFC HUNTSVILLE, Ala., (NASA) – Steve Cook, right, manager of the Ares Projects Office at the Marshall Center, and Homer Hickam, center, a former NASA engineer who is the author of the bestseller “Rocket Boys: A Memoir,” successfully launch a 1:100 scale model of the Ares I crew launch vehicle on Jan. 15. They are assisted by Vince Huegele, left, a Marshall test engineer in the Engineering Directorate. The model rocket, built by Estes-Cox Corp. in Penrose, Colo., well-known makers of educational model rocket kits, soared approximately 800 ft. before its descent. The Ares I crew launch vehicle, designed to loft the Orion crew exploration vehicle to orbit, is a key component of NASA’s Constellation Program, which will send humans to explore the moon by 2020 to set up a permanent lunar outpost. The Marshall Center manages the Ares Project for NASA’s Constellation Program, based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Copyright 2007, The International Space Fellowship. |
