NASA set to test new rocket

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NASA is making its final preparations for a test flight on a new line of rockets, with the ultimate goal of sending people back to the moon.

Ares One, a next-generation launch system will take its first test flight from the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday. The rocket will not leave the Earth's atmosphere. The two-minute flight will allow NASA to test technology that will be crucial for the development of the manned Ares I spacecraft.

But weather forecasts are predicting a 60 percent chance of heavy cloud cover that could delay the launch. NASA is hoping the Ares rocket will be able to reach orbit with astronauts by 2015.

This next generation launch system is designed to replace the aging space shuttle and eventually send humans back to the moon.

The sun sets on the Ares I-X rocket Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, at  Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B in Cape Canaveral, Fla.  NASA plans a sub-orbital test flight of the rocket early Tuesday  morning.(AP Photo/John Raoux)