Enpatika

At 1:21 a.m. EST on November 24, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. In the ensuing few hours, the spacecraft established communication with mission operators and successfully unfurled its solar arrays .

NASA’s DART Mission Will Launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Its first stage uses rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen, while the second stage uses liquid oxygen. The Falcon 9 can lift payloads of up to 50,300 pounds to low-Earth orbit, and 18,300 pounds to geostationary transfer orbit, or GTO.