Two minutes for NASA’s Ares 1 rocket

Ares 1-X: Test, then throw away.

NASA may be forced to ground its first new man-rated booster rocket in more than 40 years, but for now, tests are going forward.

The early version of the rocket, Ares 1-X, is scheduled for a two-minute engineering test flight in late October.

Because current generation of engineers have little or no experience with such rockets—that generation was fired when Apollo shut down in the 1970s—it was a learning experience. Now, with budget cuts, NASA may be forced to throw away its newly recovered expertise in favor of something cheaper—and less capable.

If the test of Ares 1-x were canceled now, little money would be saved. Most of the $350 million the test will cost has already been spent. Unfortunately, even if this test goes forward, the Augustine Commission—charged with working out options for NASA’s future manned flight program—has little choice given the budget but to recommend a course that will set us back 40 years or more.

Would I be unpatriotic to suggest that it would be lovely to see China send some Taikonauts around the moon—and perhaps wake up the U.S. so it can move forward?