Space rocket passes key test ahead of Nasa deep-space launcher flight

Bright flames shoot out rocket for two minutes, marking the first full-duration burn of the enhanced solid-fuel shuttle booster rocket

A beefed-up space shuttle solid rocket motor passed a two-minute test firing in Utah on Wednesday, a key milestone toward the debut flight of Nasa's deep-space launcher in 2018, the US space agency said.

Anchored horizontally to a test stand in the desert in Promontory, Utah, the five-segment motor, built by Orbital ATK, ignited at 9.30am local time.