Workers attach cables to the Ares I-X forward skirt which was transported from the Astrotech facility.

Inside the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers attach cables to the Ares I-X forward skirt, which was transported from the Astrotech facility. The segment will be lifted off the transporter and placed on supports on the floor. United Space Alliance, under a subcontract to ATK, will complete the integration and assembly of the forward skirt components in the ARF. It will then be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building high bay 3 for stacking operations. The forward skirt is the initial piece of first-stage hardware in preparation for the July 2009 test flight of the agency's next-generation spacecraft and launch vehicle system. Built entirely of armored steel, the 14,000-pound segment is seven feet tall and 12-1/4 feet wide. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett