Rockets are set to launch! NASA has successfully tested the igniter that will fire up the Ares I rocket’s first stage motor. Ares I is a crew launch vehicle that forms part of NASA’s Constellation programme. It will ferry astronauts up to the International Space Station (ISS), the moon… and beyond.

The test produced a 200-feet long flame, for the residents of Promontory, Utah (if there are any) to enjoy.

Ares rockets won’t be used for years – 2015 is the date NASA quotes for the ISS transportations to begin. The Ares launch vehicle will have atop it the Orion capsule for the astronauts to sit in.

Technical details of yesterday’s test can be found in the NASA press release.

Meanwhile private spaceflight continues to gallumph forward. SpaceX successfully tested its Merlin Vacuum engine for the Falcon 9 rocket, in Texas at the weekend. “The engine fired for a full six minutes, consuming 100,000 pounds of liquid oxygen and rocket grade kerosene propellant” says the press release. Falcon 9 is set to replace the Shuttle once it retires in 2010.

Image: SpaceX