KSC-2009-3197

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians keep watch as a crane lowers the Ares I-X forward skirt toward the forward skirt extension for mating. The forward skirt is the initial piece of first-stage hardware in preparation for the August 2009 test flight of NASA's next-generation spacecraft and launch vehicle system. Built entirely of armored steel, the 14,000-pound segment is seven feet tall and 12-1/4 feet wide. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs