NASA Conducts First Test On New Motor For The Ares I Rocket

Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., completed first-round testing on Sept. 11 of a key motor for the next-generation Ares I rocket. The ullage settling motor is a small, solid rocket motor that will assist in vehicle stage separation and provide the forward motion needed to push fuel to the bottom of the fuel tanks during the launch to orbit of the Ares I rocket. Ares I is the first launch vehicle in NASA's new Constellation Program family of space vehicles that will transport astronauts to the International Space Station, the moon and beyond in coming decades. Image: NASA/MSFC