Ares I-X Lifts Off

Mission managers watch as NASA's Ares I-X rocket launches from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. The flight test will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I.

Still Holding Ares I Rocket

The launch team is extending the hold due to weather going "red" because of continuing concerns over upper-level clouds. A new T-0 time will be 11:08 a.m., with the clock starting again at 11:04 a.m.

New Target Launch Time

The launch team has decided to focus in on the best period of predicted weather, and now target a liftoff at 11 a.m. EDT. Weather Officer Kathy Winters' evaluation of the trends, based on weather reconnaissance flights, indicate the troublesome upper-level clouds should clear enough to go "green" during that time, with only a 20 percent chance of violations. That would start the countdown clock at 10:56 a.m.

By Last Light

Sunset at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida finds the Ares I-X rocket awaiting the approaching liftoff of its flight test.

This is the first time since the Apollo Program's Saturn rockets were retired that a vehicle other than the space shuttle has occupied the pad.

Ares I-X at the Launch Pad

NASA's Ares I-X rocket is seen on Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. The flight test of Ares I-X, scheduled for today, Oct. 27, 2009, will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I.

New Target Time: 11:24 a.m. EDT

The launch team is now planning to come out of the current T-4 minute hold at 11:20 a.m. EDT, aiming for a liftoff at 11:24 a.m. The vehicle and its system are all still "go." The main issue remains the weather, and Weather Officer Kathy Winters continues to update the team on conditions at and near the launch pad.

Two at the Pad

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, processing of the Ares I-X rocket nears completion on Launch Pad 39B, in the foreground, as space shuttle Atlantis, seen in the distance on Launch Pad 39A, awaits liftoff on mission STS-129 to the International Space Station.

Weather Remains the Question for Ares I-X Launch Tomorrow

During this morning's Ares I-X status briefing, the launch team reported that the vehicle is ready to go, even if the weather may not be. Weather Officer Kathy Winters reported that there remains a 60 percent "no-go" tomorrow, but an improving 40 percent "no-go" during Wednesday's window.

Launch preparations continue on schedule, heading toward an 8 a.m. EDT liftoff tomorrow. Overnight at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B, technicians installed the flight door on the fifth segment simulator. This morning, the sound suppression water system tank at the pad was filled with 300,000 gallons of water.

Launch preparations also are under way a few miles from the pad in the Launch Control Center's Young-Crippen Firing Room. In addition, at NASA's Hangar AE on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Mission Director’s Center, the Launch Vehicle Data Center and the telemetry lab are being configured for launch.

The launch team's "call to stations" will come at 12:30 a.m. tomorrow, with the seven-hour countdown beginning at 1 a.m.

Building an Original

Platforms surround the Ares I-X in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building before it was moved to the launch pad on Oct. 20, 2009. Closer in height to the hulking Saturn V moon rockets than the space shuttle, Ares I-X looks unlike any rocket that's ever stood at Launch Complex 39. But it blends familiar hardware from existing programs with newly developed components.

Four first-stage, solid-fuel booster segments are derived from the Space Shuttle Program. A simulated fifth booster segment contains Atlas-V-based avionics, and the rocket's roll control system comes from the Peacekeeper missile. The launch abort system, simulated crew and service modules, upper stage, and various connecting structures all are original.

Ares I-X Undergoes Testing at the Pad

Technicians at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B continue preparing the Ares I-X test launch vehicle for its targeted liftoff on Oct. 27.

On Thursday, technicians conducted a full test of the rocket, including a "hot fire" of the auxiliary power units as part of the integrated systems test. The rotating service structure was opened at midday and will be moved back into place after an evening test of the Xenon lights is completed tonight.

Also today, the Ares I-X Flight Test Readiness Review will be held at Kennedy, which is expected to include the selection of an official launch date. At the launch pad, technicians will test the launch pad and ground systems, and ground support equipment.

A launch countdown simulation is set for Saturday, with vehicle closeouts scheduled for Sunday.

Launch Vehicle: Ares I-X
Targeted Launch Date: Oct. 27
Launch Window: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. EDT
Launch Pad: 39B
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

NASA's first flight test for the agency's next-generation spacecraft and launch vehicle system, called Ares I-X, will bring NASA one step closer to its exploration goals. The flight test will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I.

Ares I-X Secured at the Launch Pad

The Ares I-X now is secured on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The test rocket, sitting on a mobile launcher platform, was “hard down” on the pad’s pedestals at 9:17 a.m. EDT. The rotating service structure is expected to be rolled into place at about 12:30 p.m.

Ground teams began rolling out Ares I-X and its launch platform aboard a crawler-transporter from Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building at 1:39 a.m. It arrived at the pad about 7:45 a.m.

Managers will meet at Kennedy on Friday for a Flight Test Readiness Review to thoroughly discuss whether the flight test is ready to proceed and set an official launch date. Currently, Ares I-X is targeted to launch Oct. 27 at 8 a.m.

Launch Vehicle: Ares I-X
Targeted Launch Date: Oct. 27
Launch Window: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. EDT
Launch Pad: 39B
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

NASA's first flight test for the agency's next-generation spacecraft and launch vehicle system, called Ares I-X, will bring NASA one step closer to its exploration goals -- to return to the moon for more ambitious exploration of the lunar surface and to travel to Mars and destinations beyond. The flight test will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I.

Inside Job

In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician works on a platform mounted on the interior wall of the upper stage simulator of the 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket.