Ares I-X

Ares I-X Test Flight Vehicle

Mission Profile

The Ares I-X was a prototype test flight vehicle for NASA's Ares I crew launch rocket, flown on a single suborbital test flight in October 2009 to validate the vehicle's flight dynamics, aerodynamics, and roll control performance during ascent. Standing 99.7 m tall with a 3.7 m diameter and a liftoff mass of 816 tonnes, it generated 12,890 kN of thrust using a four-segment Space Shuttle solid rocket booster as its first stage, topped by a dummy upper stage and Orion capsule simulator. Though the test flight was successful, the Ares I program was cancelled in 2010 as NASA restructured under budget pressures, making the Ares I-X the only flight of the program.