Ares 1-X Now at LC-39B

If your a Space geek like us, you were probably up watching NASA rollout it’s new rocket, the Ares 1 rocket early Tuesday morning. The Ares 1 is slated to be the replacement for the shuttle when the Space Shuttles are retired next year. This has been the first new human-carrying rocket to be introduced since the early 80s and is the highest rocket rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building since the Saturn V rocket was introduced for the Apollo program in the 60s. The whole rocket is is 327 feet tall (That’s 143 feet taller than the Space Shuttle!) This flight will not carry any people inside, it will just test the First stages of the rocket. The rocket is currently using a re-purposed 4 segment Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) from the Shuttle inventory with a dummy fifth segment. Lying atop of that is a dummy Orion crew capsule (often referred to as a “boilerplate“) and launch abort tower on the top. These dummy segments are used just for adding simulated weight to the top. According to NASA, this flight is only a test of the first segment and it’s parachutes, which are actually among, if not, the biggest parachutes ever made. I also have a feeling that they will be testing the vibration in the capsule as well.

I find this test really exciting but, we shouldn’t get too excited quite yet. The Augustine Commission, a commission appointed by the White House to determine the future of the U.S. space program, will submit their recommendations to president Obama tomorrow (Thursday). Some of those plans don’t even include the Ares 1 rocket. I hope that Obama does make the right decision to move on using a different, newer, mode of transportation to the International Space Station and beyond.

I would find it oddly humorous if I see the thing go “Boom” on the 27th. Lets hope not. Anyways, you can watch the Launch on NASA TV on Tuesday October 27th at 8am (Links Below). Be sure to start watching earlier than 8am because the candle will be lit exactly at 8. If the launch is scrubbed, there will be two more attempts, which will be announced accordingly.

How to watch:
Watch directly from NASA
Watch from Spacevidcast (Recommended!)