NASA has completed the assembly of the Ares I-X rocket. Image: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis.

NASA has completed the assembly of the Ares I-X test rocket, the first new space vehicle built by the space agency in more than 25 years.

The assembly of the rocket has been finished at the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida, ahead of its first test flight on 31 October.

The final segments of the rocket, including the simulated crew module and launch abort system, were assembled on 13 August.

The test flight in October will be the first high-altitude test of the rocket that will in time replace the Space Shuttle, launch the Orion capsule and transport astronauts to the moon and beyond.

Bob Ess, Ares I-X mission manager, said: “More than three years of hard work with the NASA and contractor team has brought us to this historic moment.

“This flight test is a critical step in continuing our design process for the Ares vehicle and the first flight for the Constellation Program.”

The two and a half minute test flight will gather critical data about the rocket and verify the effectiveness of the design as well as the safety of the vehicle.

NASA is expected to retire the space shuttle fleet in 2010 and the first Ares-Orion mission is not due to take-off until 2015.