MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - NASA said Tuesday the launch of its new Ares I-X rocket, scheduled for 8:00 a.m. EDT (12.00 GMT) in Florida, had been delayed due to bad weather and rescheduled for Wednesday.

"The Ares I-X launch team is preparing for a 24-hour turnaround, targeting 8 a.m. on Wednesday as liftoff time for the Ares I-X flight test vehicle," NASA said.

It said Tuesday's attempt "was plagued by weather issues, even though the vehicle itself was ready to fly."

"After multiple attempts to reset to new launch times during the 4-hour window, the final scrub came when the weather did not improve as the end of the window neared."

The launch will be NASA's first flight test for the new spacecraft, central to the agency's plans for human spaceflight after the shuttle fleet is retired.

Ares rockets are to replace space shuttles, which are due to stop operating in 2010-2011. Skeptics say NASA will not be able to put Ares into operation earlier than 2016. If so, the US will have to use Russian space agency Roscosmos' services to send its astronauts to the International Space Station.