KSC-2009-1327

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X segments 6 and 7 (background) are lowered onto a stand. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Ares I is the essential core of a safe, reliable, cost-effective space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system. Ares I may also use its 25-ton payload capacity to deliver resources and supplies to the International Space Station, or to "park" payloads in orbit for retrieval by other spacecraft bound for the moon or other destinations. The Ares I-X is targeted for launch in July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett