Liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-129 mission to the ISS. Photo courtesy of Scott Andrews, Canon

The first stage of the Ares I-X rocket in the Atlantic Ocean as it awaited retrieval by the recovery ship Freedom Star.

Liftoff! The Ares I-X Flight Test Begins.

Sunrise image of the Ares I-X rocket as it sits poised for launch.

Xenon lights reveal the Ares I-X rocket awaiting liftoff.

Ares I-X rocket arrives at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Space shuttle Atlantis is at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., and currently moving up the pad’s incline. It should be secure on the pad’s fixed service structure within the next hour.

Don't you think that NASA's WISE spacecraft, targeted for launch in December, has an uncanny resemblance to Star Wars' R2D2?

Liftoff of STSS Demo satellite aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral AF Station.

Liftoff of STSS Demo satellite aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral AF Station.

A Delta II rocket with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s STSS Demo payload sits poised for launch.

The mate-demate device surround the 747 Aircraft with Discovery on top. The piggybacked duo touched down on runway 33.

Space shuttle Discovery atop a modified 747 aircraft lifted off from Edwards AFB.

Discovery landing at Edwards AFB in Calif. For high-res go to www.nasa.gov/shuttle Photo credit: Tom Tschida

This view captures the 327-foot height of the Ares I-X launch vehicle stacked in the VAB’s High Bay 4 at Kennedy Space Center.

Riding a tower of flames, space shuttle Discovery punches through clouds as it roars toward space.

The sun sets as space shuttle Discovery sits poised for launch.

The STS-128 astronauts are dressed in their orange launch-and-entry suits at Launch Pad 39A, going through the simulated countdown of their upcoming launch on space shuttle Discovery.

STS-128 mission astronauts arrived at Kennedy in their T-38 jets for launch dress rehearsal.

Space shuttle Endeavour touches down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.