KSC-2009-3953

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X aft center booster segment is lowered onto the aft booster and skirt for mating. Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is the essential core of a space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system . The flight test of the Ares I-X is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 30. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs