On Wednesday, after a hiccup the day before, NASA launched the world’s largest rocket (nearly 330-feet, seen above fully stacked in the Vehicle Assembly Building; notice the banners on the left which show the relative height of Ares vs. the shuttle) 25 miles into the air in a successful test flight of the Ares rocket program, which is on track to replace the space shuttle orbiter as the next manned flight vehicle.  The transition symbolizes a larger transition for the administration as critics from coast to coast attack the cost of the nation’s space program.

Now any child can point out that this week’s test flight cost in excess of $500 million (which by the way is a drop in the bucket during this year of insane numbers) and that the economy is bad globally.  I feel that we as a nation have to decide whether or not we care about innovation, technology, and exploration… and because I think that the answer is YES! (it almost has to be if we are to move forward), I think we have to suck up the fact that the space program should and will continue even if it will be slow, expensive, and difficult work.

Stepping down from my space soap box (just the same as a regular one, but more rad), I obviously think that NASA and space are basically awesome.  It was very cool to be back (you can check out my previous post here) at Kennedy Space center about a month ago to again photograph the Ares rocket program and some of it’s amazingly passionate and smart crew.  I have this idea that because I definitely touched some of the rocket “stages” on the previous visit, my fingerprints just went somewhere badass.  Do they wipe down the whole thing before it launches? I hope not.

Pictured above is the very base of the Ares I-X at right, and the thing in the middle and the tubes at left are part of the RainBird system which helps dampen the overwhelming noise of a launch.  Below is another view of the rocket fully stacked at the VAB, and for a sense of scale that American flag in the background is 50-feet tall (and if you look close there is a technician walking in the bottom right of the frame).  You can also see a lot more from my work of the Ares program in my archive.