NASA launches DART probe on a head-on collision course with an asteroid

An illustration of the DART spacecraft firing its NEXT–C ion engine.NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
NASA launched a spacecraft early Wednesday on a journey to slam into a stadium-sized asteroid.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) aims to nudge the space rock into a new orbit.
If DART works, NASA could someday use this method to push dangerous asteroids away from Earth.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket roared to life and soared through the dark California skies early Wednesday, carrying a small pro