For starters, the "public" has long ago forgotten that Ares even existed, if they even noticed in the first place. It's really only people like us that follow this stuff, at least until they are close to launching something for real and it's hyped all over the news.
As for the orange tank, yes, it's hideous, just like the STS ET was hideous. It looks like a giant rusty steel drum. It makes perfect sense, of course, and decades of STS have made people used to seeing it on rockets, so it's no big deal, but I still think it's ugly.
Too bad they can't make the foam in a swirl of pastel and surf colors...or maybe neon that glows when you shine a big blacklight at the launch pad.
As for the orange tank, yes, it's hideous, just like the STS ET was hideous. It looks like a giant rusty steel drum. It makes perfect sense, of course, and decades of STS have made people used to seeing it on rockets, so it's no big deal, but I still think it's ugly.
Too bad they can't make the foam in a swirl of pastel and surf colors...or maybe neon that glows when you shine a big blacklight at the launch pad.