KSC-2009-5781

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket is not the tallest structure on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Situated around the pad are three 100-foot fiberglass lightning masts mounted atop 500-foot towers. This is the first time since the Apollo Program's Saturn rockets were retired that a vehicle other than the space shuttle has been processed on the pad. The transfer of the pad from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program took place May 31. Pad modifications to support the Ares I-X include the removal of shuttle unique subsystems, such as the orbiter access arm and a section of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, and the installation of three 600-foot lightning towers, access platforms, environmental control systems and a vehicle stabilization system. Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I. The Ares I-X flight test is set for Oct. 27. For information on the Ares I-X vehicle and flight test, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aresIX. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett