Update: NASA has canceled today’s launch due to weather.

The last major televised NASA event was a slight disappointment (probably because everyone expected a huge, visible blast, which just didn’t happen), but it doesn’t mean we’ll stop getting excited about space exploration.

Today, NASA is poised to test launch a new rocket: the Ares I-X. It’s a suborbital prototype of a new booster that should launch NASA’s new craft (which will replace the current shuttle) Orion. The launch will last for a couple minutes, but that doesn’t make it a small event: it costs $445 million. The view, claims NASA, will be “spectacular.”

If you’re not near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where the launch is taking place, you can still see it live. The weather hasn’t been perfect, so the time of launch was moved a couple of times. If the launch indeed happens today, it has to be soon, so tune in to NASA TV now.

Tags: Ares I-X, NASA

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