Employees gather to watch the Ares I-X forward assembly as it moves out of the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees gather to watch the Ares I-X forward assembly (comprising the frustum, forward skirt extension and forward skirt) as it moves out of the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility. The assembly is being transferred to the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 4 for processing and stacking to the upper stage. Ares I-X is the flight test for the Ares I which will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Launch of the Ares I-X flight test is targeted for August 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller