This is the Ares I-X Launch Abort System, the mini-rocket that will be the tip of the main vehicle, responsible for saving the astronauts’ life in case of a major malfunction at launch.
This test unit was loaded into a C-5 transport to the Kennedy Space Center, where it will be launched this summer to an altitude of 25 miles (40.2 kilometers) during a two-minute flight test of “Ares I first stage performance, and its first stage separation and parachute recovery system”.
Image Credit: NASA/Sean Smith
