Workers secure the attachment of the Ares I-X segment to the forward center segment atop the aft assembly.

In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers secure the attachment, or mating, of the Ares I-X forward segment to the forward center segment atop the aft assembly (aft segment and aft skirt). 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/Jack Pfaller