The Tuesday launch of the Ares I-X flight test has been delayed due to weather concerns at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The flight test will be rescheduled for a four hour launch window beginning at 8 am on Wednesday, October 28th.
On Tuesday morning, the winds at the launch pad exceeded the 20-knot limit. There were also clouds with moisture that caused concerns static build up would occur on the rocket and would lead to communications issues.
The forecast for Wednesday predicts a 60 percent chance of favorable weather.
The Ares I-X is built on cutting-edge technology, which utilizes an updated version of the Saturn V rocket, employed in the 1960s to take astronauts to the moon. It has been evolved from decades of NASA spaceflight experience. The Ares I-X is 327 feet tall and 33 feet wide, which is taller than the Statue of Liberty.
The larger flight test program of the Ares I-X will provide data for future launch vehicles, as well as provide NASA with the opportunity to test hardware, ground operations and facilities.
The Ares I-X rockets will be employed in the “Orion”, which will replace the Space Shuttle program by 2015. The Ares I-X is planned to take a crew of four to six astronauts to orbit Earth, and may deliver resources and supplies to the International Space Station no sooner than 2014.
The Orion is intended to take crewed missions to the moon by 2020. NASA also plans to conduct the first human trip to Mars via the Orion.
For more information on Ares I-X and Orion, go to http://www.nasa.gov/
