Posted: Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 10:13 AM ET (1413 GMT)
NASA's Ares 1-X rocket, a suborbital prototype of the planned Ares 1 rocket, rolled out to the pad early Tuesday in advance of next week's launch. The 100-meter-tall rocket took about six hours to roll out from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Pad 39B, from where it's scheduled to launch on October 27 on a suborbital test flight. The rocket has a lower stage similar to that planned for the Ares 1, although with a four-segment solid rocket motor instead of the five-segment motor that Ares 1 will use, but a dummy upper stage. The test flight comes as NASA, the White House, and Congress debate the future of the exploration program, considering options that do not require the Ares 1.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  Florida Today article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  Reuters article
•  NASA press release