The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) newest rocket has launched on a test flight that may allow for a return to the moon. After a one-day weather delay, the Ares I-X rocket blasted off Wednesday morning from a former space-shuttle launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. No people or cargo were aboard the rocket. The prototype moon rocket flew for only two minutes-the amount of time it will take for the first-stage booster to burn out. The booster will be recovered from the Atlantic Ocean for analysis. The 100-meter rocket is almost twice as long as the shuttle, the spaceship it was designed to replace. Wednesday's launch was the first step in NASA's effort to return astronauts to the moon. However, amid record-high budget deficits, the White House is re-evaluating the spaceflight program. --SPA
