KSC-2009-1999

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Media gather in the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to see the aft skirt for the Ares I-X flight test, targeted for launch in July 2009. The I-X flight will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with Ares I, 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. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller