1 of 27
NASA Unveils New Rocket For Historic Test Flight
Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller.
NASA's new 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket casts shadows on the massive Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as it heads to Launch Pad 39B aboard a crawler-transporter on Oct. 20, 2009. Launch is set for Oct. 27.
2 of 27
Stacking Up the World's Tallest Rockets
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket sits perched atop Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for an Oct. 27, 2009 test flight, but it's not the tallest structure there. On either side of the pad are 100-foot fiberglass lightning masts mounted atop 500-foot towers. The rotating service structure, or RSS, was retracted from the rocket at midday on Oct. 22.
3 of 27
Bad Weather May Stall NASA Rocket Test
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Sunset on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 23, 2009, finds the Ares I-X rocket awaiting the approaching liftoff of its planned Oct. 27, flight test.
4 of 27
NASA Completes First Test Rocket to Replace Shuttle
Credit: NASA
For the first time in more than a quarter-century, a new space vehicle stands ready in NASA Kennedy Space Center's 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida. The final segments of the Ares I-X rocket, including the simulated crew module and launch abort system, were stacked on Aug. 13 on a mobile launcher platform, completing the 327-foot launch vehicle and providing the first entire look of Ares I-X's distinctive shape. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 31.
5 of 27
Big Test Looms for NASA’s New Rocket
Credit: NASA
Artist concept of the Ares 1-X test launch, scheduled for summer 2009.
6 of 27
Bad Weather Keeps NASA Rocket Test on Hold
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
As the sun rises over Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rotating service structure and the arms of the vehicle stabilization system have been retracted from around the Constellation Program's 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket, resting atop its mobile launcher platform, for an Oct. 27, 2009, launch try.
7 of 27
NASA Photos Reveal Rare Views of New Rocket, Space Shuttle
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket (left) awaits a late October 2009 liftoff on Launch Pad 39B on its upcoming flight test. In the distance are space shuttle Atlantis (right) atop Launch Pad 39A, and the pads and processing facilities on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
8 of 27
NASA Poised for 2nd Try to Launch Landmark Rocket Test
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
As the sun rises over Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rotating service structure and the arms of the vehicle stabilization system have been retracted from around the Constellation Program's 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket, resting atop its mobile launcher platform, for an Oct. 27, 2009, launch try.
9 of 27
Launching Tuesday: Pivotal Test Flight of NASA's Untried Rocket
Credit: NASA Kim Shiflett
Nightfall comes to Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 23, 2009, as xenon lights reveal the Ares I-X rocket awaiting the approaching Oct. 27 liftoff of its flight test. This is the first time since the Apollo Program's Saturn rockets were retired that a vehicle other than the space shuttle has occupied the pad.
10 of 27
NASA Hails New Moon Rocket's First Test Launch
Credit: NASA/Jim Grossman.
The stars and stripes on the American flag reflect NASA's commitment to teamwork as the Constellation Program's Ares I-X test rocket roars off Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff occurred at 11:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 28, 2009.
11 of 27
NASA's New Rocket Sports a Supersonic Look
Credit: NASA, courtesy of Scott Andrews
A bow shock forms around the Constellation Program's 327-foot-tall Ares I-X test rocket traveling at supersonic speed during its Oct. 28, 2009 launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The rocket produces 2.96 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and goes supersonic in 39 seconds.
12 of 27
New Moon Rocket Damaged in Test Flight, NASA Says
Credit: United Space Alliance.
This underwater image shows a large dent in the lower segment of NASA's Ares I-X rocket after it splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean to end a test flight on Oct. 28, 2009.
13 of 27
Ares I-X Rocket Blast Off
Credit: Roger Guillemette/SPACE.com
The Ares I-X moon rocket prototype roars off Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in this view of the successful Oct. 28, 2009 test launch.
14 of 27
Boeing to Build Upper Stage of NASA's Ares I Rocket
Credit: NASA.
An artist's rendition of Ares I being stacked in the vehicle assembly building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Houston-based Boeing won NASA's contract to built the rocket's upper stage, which appears in orange below the conical Orion crew capsule.
15 of 27
Orion Emergency Egress System: Roller Coaster For Astronauts
Credit: NASA
A rail car to safety.
16 of 27
NASA Faces Rocket Test Delays for New Spaceship
Credit: NASA.
An artist's rendition of a an Ares I rocket at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The pad, previously used for Apollo and shuttle launches, will be modified to support future launches of Ares and Orion spacecraft.
17 of 27
Tossing Orion: NASA Performs Drop Tests, Rocket Checks for Next Spaceship
Credit: NASA/MSFC.
A concept image of Ares I crew launch vehicle.
18 of 27
Mock Orion Spaceship Arrives at NASA Spaceport
Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a precisely machined, full-scale simulator Orion crew module is being offloaded from the C-5 aircraft.
19 of 27
Hubble Repair Delay Puts Ares 1-X Rocket Test on Hold
Credit: NASA
Artist concept of Ares I-X launch.
20 of 27
Shock Absorber Plan Set for NASA's New Rocket
Credit: NASA.
An artist's interpretation of NASA's Ares I rocket launching spaceward.
21 of 27
Glitch Cancels NASA's First Moon Rocket Test Firing
Credit: ATK
NASA's Ares I first-stage motor sits on ATK Space System's test stand in Promontory, Utah, awaiting its test firing, set for Aug. 27, 2009. The 154-foot solid rocket motor will produce heat two-thirds the temperature of the sun and its 12-foot-diameter cylinder will deliver 3.6 million pounds of thrust.
22 of 27
NASA's New Moon Rocket Passes First Engine Test
Credit: NASA TV
NASA contractor Alliant Techsystems (ATK) test fired the first stage motor for NASA's new Ares I rocket on Sept. 10.
23 of 27
On the Scene: NASA's Huge Rocket Test
Credit: ATK
ATK conducted a test firing of its first-stage rocket motor intended for NASA's new Ares I rocket. Data collected during the test from 650 data channels will be used to evaluate the motor's performance.
24 of 27
NASA Unveils New Orion Building at Florida Spaceport
Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
Representatives from NASA, Lockheed Martin, Space Florida and the state of Florida participate in a ceremony at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to mark the completion of renovations on the historic Operations and Checkout Building high bay for use by the Constellation Program.
25 of 27
NASA's Ares I-X to Launch With Historic Hardware, Commemorative Payload
Credit: NASA
The three packages of DVDs and flags inside the fifth segment simulator aboard Ares I-X.
26 of 27
Up Close: See NASA's Test Firing of Ares 1 Rocket
The new booster passed a critical engine test in the Utah desert on Sept. 10, 2009 as a blinding plume of white flame issued from the nozzle, kicking up massive cloud of exhaust and dust.
27 of 27
Water vs. Land: NASA Weighs Landing Options for Orion Spacecraft
Credit: NASA.
This artist's illustration depicts the Orion crew capsule descending toward a landing on solid ground after a spaceflight.
