Ares I-X Flight Test Launches

The Ares I-X flight test was a pivotal milestone in NASA's Constellation program, aimed at developing the next generation of crew launch vehicles for human spaceflight missions beyond low Earth orbit. The test launch of Ares I-X took place on October 28, 2009, from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B in Florida, USA.

Ares I-X was an uncrewed prototype of the Ares I launch vehicle, which was designed to carry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and eventually to lunar and Mars destinations. The Ares I configuration consisted of a solid rocket first stage, known as the Ares I First Stage Development Motor-1 (DM-1), and a simulated upper stage. The upper stage was represented by a mass simulator, and the entire assembly was topped with an Orion-like crew module simulator.