KSC-2009-1663

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers lower the Ares I-X crew module mock-up onto a mock-up of the service module during a fit check of the hardware. When fully developed, the 16-foot diameter crew module will furnish living space and reentry protection for future astronauts, and the service module’s main engine will be used to break out of lunar orbit for the return trip to Earth. Ares I-X is the test flight for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. The I-X flight will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with Ares I launches. Targeted for the summer of 2009, the launch of the full-scale Ares I-X will be the first in a series of unpiloted rocket launches from Kennedy. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller