SpaceX launched a NASA ship into space to collide with an asteroid.
NASA showed the launch of the spacecraft into Earth orbit on its official Twitter page.
The 610-kilogram DART vehicle was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California this morning.
55 minutes after the start of the flight, the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle separated from the ship.
Over the course of 10 months, the rocket will attempt to change the course of the asteroid Didymos and its moon Dimorpha.
The diameter of the first, by the way, is 780 meters, and the second – 160.
These asteroids, despite their size, do not pose a threat to the Earth.
Through space research, scientists hope to prove that the Earth can be protected from collisions with celestial bodies.
NASA spent $330 million on the project, of which $69 million was SpaceX’s fee for joint work.
