The launch of the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built is scheduled to happen this evening from the same launch pad used by the last Apollo mission 50 years ago.
, which can fit four astronauts in specialised seats for up to 21 days without docking, built by the European Space Agency , which contains solar panels and power modules, as well as all the capsule's, which sits on top of the capsule and is designed to jettison if there is an emergency just after lift-off
"So when you put everything together is when you test whether your interface has been well defined, and if the individual tests have been well done.So what are the big challenges?"We have simple, but aggressive, objectives — that is to get the vehicle into orbit, in orbit, and back home. NASA will communicate with the capsule using its Deep Space Network radio antennas in California, and near Canberra and Madrid.Artist's impression of Orion spacecraft as it flies past the Moon.use the Moon's gravity to slingshot it back towards EarthThen it faces its most important test: re-entering Earth's atmosphere.NASA is trialling a new re-entry manoeuvre that plunges the Orion capsule at high speed through Earth's atmosphere.