this is a test flight, so there are no people onboard. the time has come to put the space launch system to the test. as it readies for blast off from cape canaveral in florida on launch pad 39b, the same one used for apollo, it will be nervewracking. 3, 2, 1. the rocket thunders away from the earth, eventually reaching speeds of nearly 25,000 miles, or 40,000 kilometres, an hour. as each component of the rocket completes theirjob, they separate. the orion spacecraft is on its way. there s a long journey ahead. it s 380,000 kilometres about 240,000 miles to the moon. after its launch, the spacecraft enters into a low earth orbit, then with the go from mission control, the engines ignite, giving it the big push it needs
its colossal size means it s really heavy, so it needs lots of power. it has four engines, but even those aren t enough to get this rocket off the ground, so what it also needs are these two huge boosters. they all use fuel, and the biggest part, called the core stage, is full of fuel. in fact, fuel makes up 90% of the weight of this entire rocket. now you might be wondering where the astronauts will go. well, it s here, near the top, in the orion crew capsule. but not this time. this is a test flight, so there are no people onboard. the time has come to put the space launch system to the test. as it readies for blast off from cape canaveral in florida on launch pad 39b, the same one used for apollo, it will be nervewracking. 3, 2, 1. the rocket thunders away
this rocket off the ground, so what it also needs are these two huge boosters. they all use fuel, and the biggest part, called the core stage, is full of fuel. in fact, fuel makes up 90% of the weight of this entire rocket. now you might be wondering where the astronauts will go. well, it s here, near the top, in the orion crew capsule. but not this time. this is a test flight, so there are no people onboard. the time has come to put the space launch system to the test. as it readies for blast off from cape canaveral in florida on launch pad 39b, the same one used for apollo, it will be nervewracking. 3, 2, 1. the rocket thunders away from the earth, eventually reaching speeds of nearly 25,000 miles, or 40,000 kilometres, an hour. as each component of the rocket