NASA and SpaceX Launch First Earth Defense Test That Will Purposely Crash Into an Asteroid

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) -- the first-ever test mission for Earth's defense technology against potential asteroid hazards -- took off on Wednesday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.Just one component of NASA's umbrella defense strategy, DART's mission will intentionally impact a known asteroid that is not posing a threat to Earth, with the goal of altering the asteroid's motion using a method that can b...