10月28日，NASA在肯尼迪發(fā)射中心首次發(fā)射了原型的阿瑞斯（戰(zhàn)神）I-X型運載火箭。土星號運載火箭是從阿波羅計劃開始時就使用的運載工具，后來又用于航天飛機的發(fā)射，當土星號退役后，阿瑞斯I-X運載火箭就會承擔起新一代的運載任務。該型號的運載火箭有327英尺高（99.7 m），升空時推力達296萬磅（1344噸），發(fā)射8秒鐘后速度可達到100mph（160.9 km/h）。在兩分鐘的亞軌道飛行試驗后發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些問題，例如，發(fā)射平臺輕微受損；其中一節(jié)的分離沒有完全象原計劃那樣地進行；可能由于降落傘的故障，導致一段火箭出現(xiàn)了硬濺落。在最近的一項委員會調查報告中稱星球計劃花費太多，因此該計劃承受了很大的壓力。奧巴馬政府在今后幾個月內將就近期的空間政策的方向作出決定（共計28張照片）。
1. 當阿瑞斯I-X運載火箭從佛羅里達肯尼迪航天中心發(fā)射起飛時，39B發(fā)射臺上布滿了火箭發(fā)射所引起的煙霧，10月28日美東時間11:30.
2. 阿瑞斯一段的火箭發(fā)動機，尚未灌充燃料，2009年7月20日。阿瑞斯的一段有154英尺長（47.8m），最大可產生360萬磅（1634.4噸）的推力，比航天飛機的兩個固體助推火箭能提供的推力大24%。
3. 在持續(xù)5.5秒的發(fā)動機地面點火試驗中，噴出的火焰高達100英尺（30.4m），2008年1月20日，猶他州普羅蒙特雷ATK試驗場，由Orion工業(yè)公司成員主持的下一代航天飛機火箭發(fā)動機點火試驗。
4. 在由美國軍方提供的位于亞利桑那州峪麻（Yuma）的試驗場內，NASA和ATK成功地進行了火箭發(fā)動機組的傘降試驗，這次試驗是在2009年5月9日進行的。有三個150英尺直徑的降落傘將41,500磅(18841kg)的試驗負載降落到沙漠的地面上。降落傘系統(tǒng)是用于阿瑞斯 I 型 運載火箭第一段的回收和重復使用的，也會在隨后進行的試驗發(fā)射中用于回收阿瑞斯I-X型的第一段。
5. 2009年9月10日，NASA和工業(yè)界的工程師們點亮了猶他州的天空，首次進行全尺寸、全周期的阿瑞斯 I 型運載火箭一段發(fā)動機點火試驗。154英尺長的（46.82m）固體火箭產生的熱量能使火焰溫度達到2/3的太陽表面溫度，12英尺（3.65m）直徑的一段最大能提供360萬磅（1,634.4噸）的推力。
6. 在航天飛機著落場，佛羅里達州NASA的肯尼迪航天中心，正從C5運輸機上卸下阿瑞斯I-X運載火箭發(fā)射所用的各種設備，包括一個精密加工的、全尺寸的乘員艙模擬器以及最后會裝在NASA的阿瑞斯運載 I-X 火箭頂端的發(fā)射失敗逃逸系統(tǒng)。
7. NASA 在密西西比州漢庫克縣的斯坦尼斯空間中心建立了9號測試臺架。九個用于儲存儲存水、異丙醇和液氧的粗獷已經運到現(xiàn)場，正進行安裝。在以后的幾周內計劃還有五個儲水罐會運到現(xiàn)場。照片左側的兩個灰色的儲罐為異丙醇儲罐。三個較矮的儲罐為液氧儲罐，每個可以儲存35,000加侖（132.5立方米）的液氧?？偛空诘跹b的是四個水儲罐，每個的容量為39,000加侖（167.6立方米）。這所有十四個儲罐均被用于向裝在A-3實驗臺架頂端的化學物質流發(fā)生器提供原料，用來模擬十萬英尺高空的同溫層環(huán)境。這樣才可以用來驗證裝在新的阿瑞斯火箭最上面一段的J2-X火箭發(fā)動機的性能。
8In High Bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X upper stage simulator service module/service adapter (left, center) has been installed on a stand. Other segments are placed and stacked on the floor around it. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. (NASA/Kim Shiflett)
9In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X aft center booster segment is lowered for attachment to the aft booster and skirt. (NASA/Tim Jacobs)
10In High Bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians maneuver a second roll control system module into place for installation in the Ares I-X segment. (NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis)
11The NASA Railroad hauls cars carrying the Ares I-X motor segments and nozzle exit cone over a river bridge to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four reusable motor segments and the nozzle exit cone, manufactured by the Ares I first-stage prime contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc., or ATK, departed Utah March 12 on the seven-day, cross-country trip to Florida. (NASA/Kim Shiflett)
12The oxygen vent arm and hood removed from the fixed service structure at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B is ready for transfer from the pad to a storage facility, after the pad was transferred from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program. The ground operations team is modifying pad B for the Ares I-X rocket launch. Modifications also include installing access platforms and a vehicle stabilization system. (NASA/Jack Pfaller)
13In the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician performs propellant grain inspection of the inside of the Ares I-X motor segment. It is one of four reusable motor segments and nozzle exit cone shipped by the Ares I first-stage prime contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc. for final processing and integration in the facility. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. (NASA/Jim Grossmann)
#14In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 4, assembly of the Ares I-X rocket nears completion. The yellow framework, nicknamed the "birdcage," lifts Super Stack 5 toward an opening at the 16th floor crossover into the transfer aisle. The stack will be positioned on top of the segments already in place on the mobile launcher platform in High Bay 3, completing assembly of the 327-foot-tall rocket. Five super stacks make up the rocket's upper stage that is integrated with the four-segment solid rocket booster first stage. (NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis)
15In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3, a yellow framework, lifts Super Stack 5 atop Super Stack 4. Once in position, assembly of the Ares I-X rocket will be complete. The 327-foot-tall rocket is one of the largest processed in the bay, rivaling the height of the Apollo Program's 364-foot-tall Saturn V. (NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis)
16Work platforms surround the Ares I-X launch vehicle in the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket has undergone a sway test that simulated conditions the rocket could experience during rollout to Launch Pad 39B, wind conditions at the pad and first-stage ignition. During the test, vibrations are mechanically induced into the rocket by four hydraulic shakers and a sway is manually introduced for lateral motion to measure the vehicle's response. A total of 44 accelerometers are installed on the flight test vehicle that required more than 27,000 feet of cable. (NASA/Kim Shiflett)
17In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician works on a platform mounted on the interior wall of the upper stage simulator of the 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket. (NASA/Jim Grossmann)
18The Ares I-X rocket, shown in in High Bay 3 of Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building is being prepared for this week's Launch Vehicle Readiness Test in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Oct. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
19The 327-foot-tall Ares I-X test rocket moves slowly to launch pad 39B from the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
20The driver of the crawler-transporter slowly maneuvers the huge vehicle under the mobile launcher platform holding the 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crawler-transporter will carry the rocket on the 4.2-mile journey to Launch Pad 39B. The transfer of the pad from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program took place May 31. Modifications made to the pad include the removal of shuttle unique subsystems, such as the orbiter access arm and a section of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, along with the installation of three 600-foot lightning towers, access platforms, environmental control systems and a vehicle stabilization system. (NASA/Jack Pfaller)
21NASA's Ares 1-X rocket rolls out to launch pad 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center October 20, 2009 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Matt Stroshane)
22NASA's Ares I-X rocket is seen on launch pad 39b at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. (AP Phgoto/NASA/BILL INGALLS) mandatory credit
#23The top section of NASA's new Ares 1-X test vehicle is reflected in a pond as an alligator lurks near launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 26, 2009. (BRUCE WEAVER)
24The Ares 1-X test rocket lifts off on a six-minute suborbital flight from launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, October 28, 2009. (REUTERS/Pierre Ducharme)
25NASA's Ares 1-X rocket lifts off from launch pad 39-b at the Kennedy Space Center October 28, 2009 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle)
26A cone of moisture surrounds part of the Ares I-X rocket during lift off Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009, on a sub-orbital test flight from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
27The Ares 1-X test rocket climbs into the sky on a six-minute suborbital flight from launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida October 28, 2009. (REUTERS/Scott Audette)
#28NASA's new Ares 1-X test vehicle goes through first stage/upper stage simulator seperation about two minutes after launch Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39-B in Florida on October 28, 2009. After two and a half minutes, the main part of the 327-foot (100-meter) rocket splashed down as planned in the Atlantic Ocean as applause broke out in a relieved and excited NASA control room. (BRUCE WEAVER)
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