DART delayed to November launch as environmental testing begins
February 19, 2021
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft has been moved to its secondary launch window as it begins thermal and environmental testing. The new launch date of November 24, 2021 is a delay from an original target of July 21.
DART is NASA’s first planetary defense demonstration, planned to change an asteroid’s orbit by a kinetic impact. DART is a simple technology demonstrator which will attempt to impact Dimorphos, a moonlet of the asteroid Didymos.
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) senior leadership requested a risk assessment to determine the viability of the primary and secondary launch windows. After this assessment was completed, teams determined the primary launch window was no longer viable and the DART team was told to pursue the secondary date.