The Kennedy Space Center's pad 39B is all set for the 8 a. m. Tuesday morning blast off of NASA's 327 feet tall Ares I-X test rocket - US marking the space agency's first test flight in its program to put up a next-generation rocket for replacing the space shuttle!

With NASA preparing to pick up the countdown for the launch of the $450 million prototype, the agency's test director Jeff Spaulding said: "We're not working any problems, and the vehicle is in great shape, so we're looking good for Tuesday morning's launch."

The launch of the demonstrator rocket comes despite the fact that the White House expert panel has raised pertinent questions about the extravagant NASA mission, in its review report.

Nonetheless, proceeding with the launch of Ares I-X - which is nearly the same shape and size as the planned Ares I - as per plan, NASA opines that the test flight, carrying 700 sensors for gauging data like temperature, stress, temperature and vibrations, will give the rocket's engineers a chance to corroborate and tweak their designs.

The short flight of the Ares I-X will not reach the orbit. The first stage will burn for nearly two minutes, lifting the 1.8-million-pound 25 miles high towards the east. Thereafter, the first stage will disconnect and descend by parachute, leaving the dummy second stage to plunge into the Atlantic!