The DART spacecraft is removed from the shipping container and moved to the spacecraft dolly inside Astrotech at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Technicians remove the wrapping from NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft that protected it during transport to the Astrotech Space Operations Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 4, 2021. Once fully unpacked, the spacecraft will undergo a series of tests and checkouts to confirm it is ready for launch. DART is the first mission to test technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. The mission is targeted to launch on Nov. 23, 2021, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, America’s multi-user spaceport, is managing the launch.

Technicians lower NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft onto a work stand inside the Astrotech Space Operations Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 4, 2021. Once secured on its stand, the spacecraft will undergo a series of tests and checkouts to confirm it is ready for launch. DART is the first mission to test technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. The mission is targeted to launch on Nov. 23, 2021, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, America’s multi-user spaceport, is managing the launch.

Technicians prepare to move NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft onto a work stand inside the Astrotech Space Operations Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California following its arrival at the facility on Oct. 4, 2021. Once secured on its stand, the spacecraft will undergo a series of tests and checkouts to confirm it is ready for launch. DART is the first mission to test technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. The mission is targeted to launch on Nov. 23, 2021, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, America’s multi-user spaceport, is managing the launch.

Technicians remove NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft from its shipping container inside the Astrotech Space Operations Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 4, 2021. Once fully unpacked, the spacecraft will undergo a series of tests and checkouts to confirm it is ready for launch. DART is the first mission to test technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. The mission is targeted to launch on Nov. 23, 2021, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, America’s multi-user spaceport, is managing the launch.

Technicians remove NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft from its shipping container inside the Astrotech Space Operations Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 4, 2021. Once fully unpacked, the spacecraft will undergo a series of tests and checkouts to confirm it is ready for launch. DART is the first mission to test technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. The mission is targeted to launch on Nov. 23, 2021, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, America’s multi-user spaceport, is managing the launch.