NASA Huntsville Alabama

The head of NASA's next-generation rocket will be in Mobile to discuss the program with coastal residents.

   Todd May, who directs NASA's space launch system at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, will speak about the program at Battleship Memorial Park on Wednesday afternoon.

   The event is open to the public, and NASA astronaut and former space shuttle pilot Tony Antonelli will also be on hand.

   The space launch system will be the most powerful rocket ever built, and the first test flight is set for 2017.

The nation's space agency is tearing down a rocket test stand in Huntsville that was once used by engineers working to send astronauts to the moon.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration says workers will use explosives to demolish the concrete towers of Test Stand 4696 at Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville on Friday.

The 239-foot-tall tower was built in 1962 to test F-1 engines, which helped power Saturn V rockets to the moon. Documents show it hasn't been used since 1969, the year astronauts first landed on the lunar surface.