Nasa's Orion spacecraft is designed to carry astronauts to an asteroid andeventuallyto Mars Will be launched for first time on Thursday from Cape Canaveral AirForce Station in Florida Engineers are now preparing Orion to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy rocket Pointed tip of the capsule is known as the Launch Abort System and can take astronaut's to safety The fairing - or casing - which aims to stream line the launch, will be jettisoned during Orion's ride into space Unmanned test flight will take place on December 4th and will take around four hours

By Ellie Zolfagharifard and Mark Prigg for MailOnline

Published: 16:09 EST, 1 December 2014 | Updated: 16:23 EST, 1 December 2014

The radical Orion spacecraft, designed to carry astronauts into deep space, has been given to go-ahead to launch for the first time on Thursday.

The launch has been overshadowed by two space disasters - the Antares rocket explosion and the tragic failure of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShip Two.

However, Nasa hopes the launch could reinvigorate the space programme.

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Ready to go!Engineers are now preparing Orion to launch on top of 180ft tall (55 metres) United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy rockets in an unmanned test flight on December 4th.

Weather conditions remain good for Thursday's Orion test flight, forecasters say.

The latest predictions show there is a 60 percent chance of favorable weather for the 7:05 a.m. launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Original post:

Nasa gives go-ahead for Orion capsule that could take man to Mars to blast off on Thursday