According to a statement by the US space agency NASA, a deflated 150-foot parachute badly dented the first stage booster of the Wednesday-launched Ares I-X test rocket, before its dummy upper stage plunged into the Atlantic.

The huge dent, near the base of the rocket, was spotted by the diving team that had been sent to recover the rocket's first stage giant booster, upon the completion of its two-minute test flight.

The first stage is basically a four-segment solid rocket booster, similar to the one used for launching NASA's space shuttles, with a dummy fifth stage made of a fake segment on top.

The Ares test rocket launched on its brief six-minute test flight from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Nearly two minutes into the launch, the first stage separated from the dummy second stage.

As per the NASA officials, there was no problem with the launch itself, and the dent apparently resulted from the malfunctioning of one of the three parachutes on the booster, which is likely to be brought back on shore on Friday.

The $445 million test flight of the Ares I prototype will essentially help in the future development of NASA's actual moon rocket, the booster which is slated to carry astronauts to space upon the retirement of the shuttle fleet.