Photos: NASA's Ares 1 Rocket Test Launch

NASA Unveils New Rocket For Historic Test Flight

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.

Stacking Up the World's Tallest Rockets

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 The rotating service structure, or RSS, was retracted from the rocket at midday on Oct. 22.

Bad Weather May Stall NASA Rocket Test

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.

NASA Completes First Test Rocket to Replace Shuttle

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.

Big Test Looms for NASA’s New Rocket

Artist concept of the Ares 1-X test launch, scheduled for summer 2009.

Bad Weather Keeps NASA Rocket Test on Hold

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Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rotating service structure and the arms of the vehicle stabilization system have been retracted from around the Constellation Program's 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket, resting atop its mobile launcher platform, for an Oct. 27, 2009, launch try.

NASA Photos Reveal Rare Views of New Rocket, Space Shuttle

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.

NASA Poised for 2nd Try to Launch Landmark Rocket Test

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.

Launching Tuesday: Pivotal Test Flight of NASA's Untried Rocket

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.

NASA Hails New Moon Rocket's First Test Launch

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.

NASA's New Rocket Sports a Supersonic Look

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.