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TALK about pressure. As the troubled successor to NASA's space shuttle powers up for its first flight test, a White House panel is weighing up whether to cancel the project.
The Ares I rocket is designed to carry a crew capsule called Orion to Earth orbit, where it could dock with the International Space Station or form part of a mission to the moon. But it has been plagued with budget problems and technical hitches.
On 27 October - or a few days later, depending on how the preparations go - NASA is expected to launch the first Ares I test flight. A solid-fuel rocket like those used on the space shuttle will boost a dummy second stage and crew capsule to an altitude of about 45 kilometres. The flight will determine the rocket's stability ...
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