The spaceship Herawhich will study him Asteroids Dimorphiclaunched today from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a Falcon 9 rocket from the company SpaceX.

The launch was broadcast live by the European Space Agency (ESA).

Watch video of the launch:

This mission is scheduled to arrive at the end of 2026 near the asteroid. Two years ago, a NASA impactor deliberately collided with Dimorphos to change its course, as part of a ground-breaking test of Earth’s defense against threats from space.

The launch took place at 10.52 local time (17.52 Greek time). In the past few days there has been some uncertainty as SpaceX received the green light from the US authorities only on Sunday, after the Falcon 9 rocket had experienced some malfunction in its earlier flight. At the same time, the meteorological conditions were difficult, given that the Hurricane Milton approaching the coast of Florida.

The hurricane, which today strengthened to a Category 4 (on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale), delayed another mission, that of NASA’s Europa Clipper, which will study an icy moon of Jupiter to determine whether its subterranean ocean could harbor life.

Dimorphos, a small asteroid with a diameter of only 160 meters, is actually a satellite of a larger asteroid, Gemini.