August 8, 2008
On Launch Pad 39B, workers are installing a lightning protection system. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire centenary system. This improved lightning protection system also allows for the taller height of the Ares I compared to the space shuttle.
The pad, previously used for Apollo and shuttle launches, is being modified to support future launches of Ares and Orion spacecraft.
Ares I is a two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle to low Earth orbit. The first stage will consist of a single reusable solid propellant rocket booster, similar to those used on space shuttles, with an additional fifth segment. The second, or upper, stage will consist of a J-2X liquid oxygen- and liquid hydrogen-fueled main engine and a new upper stage fuel tank.
The first Ares test launch is scheduled for April 2009.
(Courtesy of www.nasa.gov)
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