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Here's why tonight's SpaceX launch is potentially groundbreaking

Kelly DickersonDec 22, 2015, 02:55 IST

The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from launch pad 40 the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape CanaveralThomson Reuters

At 8:34 p.m. ET December 21, SpaceX will launch the most powerful version yet of its 229-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.

Shortly after the launch, SpaceX will attempt to guide part of the rocket back to Earth and land it upright back on the launch pad. If SpaceX succeeds, it has the potential to change spaceflight as we know it.

Here's how the historic landing will work, and what it might mean for spaceflight.