Ares 1-X First Stage Damaged

NASA assessing dented booster from Ares 1-X launch, Spaceflight Now

"Photographs taken by the recovery crew show the four-segment shuttle booster floating upright in the Atlantic Ocean shortly after splashdown. An initial inspection, sources said, revealed the sort of paint blistering that is typically found on shuttle boosters, along with a good sized dent in the lower segment that was photographed by divers."

30 October 11:48 am EDT update: NASA KSC speaker on Ares 1-X parachutes: "we had one good one, one completely failed one, and one partially opened. That caused the booster to hit at high speed." This vhicle had 15% more weight than the actual weight of an Ares 1 ... The dent on the booster was due to water impact ... we are not dwelling on the damage because we never planned to use this booster again. ... We do not consider this to be a significant event.