In the High Bay 3 of NASA Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building, the Ares I-X forward segment is lowered toward the forward center for mating. The forward center is already mated with the aft center and the aft skirt segments below. 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 Ares I-X flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 30. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder