KSC-2009-5977

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA’s Ares I-X test rocket clears the tower at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:30 a.m. EDT on Oct. 28. The rocket produces 2.96 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and reaches a speed of 100 mph in eight seconds. This was the first launch from Kennedy's pads of a vehicle other than the space shuttle since the Apollo Program's Saturn rockets were retired. The parts used to make the Ares I-X booster flew on 30 different shuttle missions ranging from STS-29 in 1989 to STS-106 in 2000. The data returned from more than 700 sensors throughout the rocket will be used to refine the design of future launch vehicles and bring NASA one step closer to reaching its exploration goals. For information on the Ares I-X vehicle and flight test, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aresIX. Photo credit: Courtesy of Scott Andrews