30.07.2025
Secretive Space Force X-37 space plane headed back to launch pad. Here's what we know.
Story Summary
- The X-37B space plane, recently returned from a 430+ day mission, is preparing for its eighth launch.
- Scheduled for no earlier than August 21st from Kennedy Space Center, the mission will focus on communication and navigation tests.
- The X-37B, a reusable space plane about a quarter the size of the Space Shuttle, has spent over 4,200 days in orbit since its first launch in 2010.
The mysterious Space Force space plane is headed back to the Florida launch pad.
The Boeing-built X-37B is ready to see its eighth mission less than six months after completing its last. Currently being prepared for launch at Boeing's facilities at Kennedy Space Center, according to a statement from the company, and is slated for a liftoff no earlier than August 21 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A.
The space plane landed quietly in early March at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The vehicle spent over 430 days cruising around the Earth.
That mission was launched launched atop a Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 28, 2023. Now the Space Coast is set to see this mysterious space vehicle launch again.
What will the X-37B space plane be doing for the Space Force?
So what is this mysterious space plane doing on this mission? Turns out it's mostly about testing means of communication and navigation in orbit.
According to Boeing, the X-37B will be carrying experiments for the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defense Innovation Unit.
"First, laser communications demos in Low Earth Orbit will contribute to more efficient and secure satellite communications in the future. The shorter wavelength of infrared light allows more data to be sent with each transmission," Space Force commander General Chance Saltzman wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
There will also be testing of a new sensor, which will enable GPS contact where communication would have previously been difficult.
"We’re also demoing the world’s highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space. Bottom line: Testing this tech will be helpful for navigation in contested environments where GPS may be degraded or denied," said Saltzman.
This includes beyond Earth orbit and around the moon, according to Boeing.
"This mission is about more than innovation. It’s about making our Joint Force more connected, more resilient, and ready to operate in the face of any challenge. That’s how America’s Space Force secures our Nation’s interests in, from, and to space," said Saltzman.
X-37B space plane stats
The X-37B is a bit like NASA's Space Shuttle — however it is uncrewed and launched as a payload as opposed to on the side of boosters. According to Boeing, the X-37B has a body and landing operation similar to the Space Shuttle, however it is smaller, measuring in at just one-fourth the size of the shuttle.
The reusable space plane, first launched in 2010. It has seen over 4,200 days in orbit.
The X-37B last caught attention in December, when the Space Force released photo of Earth taken by the X-37B from a high orbit.
While that last mission was over 430 days, some missions are longer than others. FLORIDA TODAY previously reported the sixth flight of the X-37B lasted 908 days. It is unknown how long the X-37B will be in orbit for its upcoming eighth mission.
According to Boeing, the space plane orbits between 150-500 miles above the Earth.
Due to the X-37B being a classified Space Force mission, details remain limited.
Quelle: Florida Today
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US Space Force scheduled to launch eighth X-37B mission
The U.S. Space Force, in partnership with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, is scheduled to launch the eighth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-8) on Aug. 21, 2025, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
X-37B Mission 8 will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, designated USSF-36, with a wide range of test and experimentation objectives. These operational demonstrations and experiments comprise of next-generation technologies including laser communications and the highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space. Mission partners include the Air Force Research Lab and the Defense Innovation Unit, respectively.
Mission 8 will contribute to improving the resilience, efficiency and security of U.S. space based communications architectures by conducting laser communications demonstrations involving proliferated commercial satellite networks in Low Earth Orbit. Laser communications are integral to the future of space communications as the shorter wavelength of infrared light increases the amount of data that can be sent with each transmission. Additionally, they are more secure than traditional radio frequency transmissions owing to the more targeted nature of laser beams. The use of proliferated relay networks enhances the resilience of U.S. space architectures by ensuring that they contain no single point of failure.
These experiments come as part of a broader push across the U.S. Space Force to uphold the safety and security of the space domain by enhancing the resilience and flexibility of U.S. orbital systems. Commenting on the significance of this demonstration, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman stated, "OTV-8's laser communications demonstration will mark an important step in the U.S. Space Force's ability to leverage proliferated space networks as part of a diversified and redundant space architectures. In so doing, it will strengthen the resilience, reliability, adaptability and data transport speeds of our satellite communications architecture."
Additionally, Mission 8 will demonstrate the world's highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space. This demonstration will inform accurate unaided navigation in space by detecting rotation and acceleration of atoms without reliance on satellite networks like traditional GPS. This technology is useful for navigation in GPS-denied environments and consequently will enhance the navigational resilience of U.S. spacecraft in the face of current and emerging threats. As quantum inertial sensors would be useful for navigation in cislunar space, they additionally promise to push the technological frontiers of long-distance space travel and exploration.
Speaking on the quantum inertial sensor demonstration, Col. Ramsey Horn, Space Delta 9 commander, asserted, "OTV 8's quantum inertial sensor demonstration is a welcome step forward for operational resilience in space. Whether navigating beyond Earth based orbits in cislunar space or operating in GPS-denied environments, quantum inertial sensing allows for robust navigation capabilities when GPS navigation is not possible. Ultimately, this technology contributes significantly to our thrust within the Fifth Space Operations Squadron and across the Space Force guaranteeing movement and maneuverability even in GPS-denied environments." The Fifth Space Operations Squadron, within USSF Delta 9 conducts day-to-day on-orbit operations of the X-37B in partnership with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
The X-37B is a dynamic and responsive spacecraft responsible for conducting a range of tests and experiments that expedite the development of critical next-generation technologies and operational concepts for reusable space capabilities.
Quelle: United States Space Force
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A secretive space plane is set to launch and test quantum navigation technology
"Testing this tech will be helpful for navigation in contested environments."
The X-37B, the US Space Force's secretive space plane, will soon take flight again.
On Monday, the Space Force announced that it will fly the small, Space Shuttle-shaped vehicle on the program's eighth mission next month. The launch of the vehicle, on a Falcon 9 rocket, is scheduled to occur no earlier than August 21 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
There are two active X-37Bs in the Space Force fleet, both built by Boeing. The first made its debut flight in April 2010. Since then, the two uncrewed spacecraft have made a succession of longer flights. The first made its longest and latest flight from 2020 to 2022 over a span of 908 days. The second flew more recently, landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base on March 7 after 434 days in orbit.
It's likely that the first of these two vehicles, both of which are about 29 feet (9 meters) long and roughly one-quarter the length of one of NASA's Space Shuttle orbiters, will launch next month.
Some details about the upcoming flight
Over the past decade and a half, the Space Force has largely remained silent about the purpose of this space plane, flying classified payloads and providing only limited information about the purpose of each flight.
However, for this flight, OTV-8, the military has provided a bit more detail about its intentions. The vehicle will fly with a service module that will expand its capacity for experiments, allowing the space plane to host payload for the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defense Innovation Unit.
The mission's goals include tests of "high-bandwidth inter-satellite laser communications technologies."
"OTV-8's laser communications demonstration will mark an important step in the US Space Force's ability to leverage commercial space networks as part of proliferated, diversified, and redundant space architectures," said US Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman in a statement. "In so doing, it will strengthen the resilience, reliability, adaptability, and data transport speeds of our satellite communications architectures."
Navigating in a world without GPS
The space plane will also advance the development of a new navigation technology based on electromagnetic wave interference. The Space Force news release characterizes this as the "highest-performing quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space."
Boeing has previously tested a quantum inertial measurement unit, which detects rotation and acceleration using atom interferometry, on conventional aircraft. Now, an advanced version of the technology is being taken to space to demonstrate its viability. The goal of the in-space test is to demonstrate precise positioning, navigation, and timing in an environment where GPS services are not available.
"Bottom line: testing this tech will be helpful for navigation in contested environments where GPS may be degraded or denied," Saltzman said in a social media post Monday, describing the flight.
Quantum inertial sensors could also be used near the Moon, where there is no comparable GPS capability, or for exploration further into the Solar System.
Notably, the small X-37B is back to launching on a medium-lift rocket with this new mission. During its most recent flight that ended in March, the space plane launched on a Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time. This allowed the X-37B to fly beyond low-Earth orbit and reach an elliptical high-Earth orbit.
Quelle: arsTechnica
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Update: 1.08.2025
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US Space Force’s mysterious X-37B space plane launching Aug. 21 to test quantum sensor and laser-communications tech
The X-37B's eighth orbital mission will start with a liftoff atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The U.S. Space Force's X-37B space plane is seen before being encapsulated inside its payload fairing ahead of one of its launches. (Image credit: U.S. Space Force/Boeing)
The U.S. Space Force's secretive X-37B space plane is poised to launch to orbit once again.
The X-37B is slated to lift off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Aug. 21 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Space Force officials announced on Monday (July 28).
This will be the eighth mission to date for the robotic X-37B, which is also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle. So the Space Force calls the upcoming flight OTV-8.
OTV-8's launch will come 5.5 months after the X-37B's most recent return from space. That runway landing wrapped up the 434-day-long OTV-7 mission. Space Force officials have not said how long OTV-8 is expected to last.
We do know a little about the payloads going up on the 29-foot-long (8.8 meters) X-37B, which looks like a miniature version of NASA's old space shuttle orbiters. OTV-8 will help demonstrate some new technologies, including laser communications and a quantum inertial sensor, according to the Space Force's July 28 statement.
The X-37B will perform examinations using "the highest-performing quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space," Space Force officials said. The mission will also focus on a laser communications experiment involving "proliferated commercial satellite networks in low Earth orbit (LEO)," which likely refers to SpaceX's huge Starlink broadband network.
"OTV-8's laser communications demonstration will mark an important step in the U.S. Space Force's ability to leverage proliferated space networks as part of a diversified and redundant space architectures," Chance Saltzman, the Space Force's chief of space operations, said in the statement.
Laser communication has benefits over traditional radio frequencies, including more robust data capabilities and less susceptibility to covert transmission interception.
Tapping into constellations like Starlink, which currently boasts more than 8,000 operational satellites in LEO, "will mark an important step in the U.S. Space Force's ability to leverage proliferated space networks as part of a diversified and redundant space architectures," Saltzman said. "It will strengthen the resilience, reliability, adaptability and data transport speeds of our satellite communications architecture."
X-37B's quantum inertial sensor will test the reliability of navigating in space without traditional GPS. Instead, the sensor will assess its orbital coordinates by measuring the rotation and acceleration of nearby atoms.
Saltzman called the sensor "a welcome step forward for operational resilience." Such technology could allow a probe to navigate successfully where there are no GPS networks, such as the moon, Mars and other deep space destinations.
Quelle: SC
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Update: 16.08.2025
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US Space Force prepares X-37B Mission 8 for launch
The U.S. Space Force, in partnership with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and SpaceX, is making final preparations to launch the eighth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-8) on Aug. 21 from Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
The eighth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, designated USSF-36, with a wide range of test and experimentation objectives. These will include demonstrations of high-bandwidth inter-satellite laser communications technologies and enhanced space navigation using the highest performing quantum inertial sensor in space.
"OTV-8 exemplifies the X-37B's status as the U.S. Space Force's premier test platform for the critical space technologies of tomorrow. Through its mission-focused innovation, the X-37B continues to redefine the art of the possible in the final frontier of space," said AFRCO Acting Director William Blauser.
The X-37B program, which first launched in April 2010, has accrued 4,208 days in operation. Previous X-37B missions have successfully demonstrated the X-37B spacecraft’s ability to alter its orbital trajectory using a novel aerobraking maneuver, experimented with space domain awareness technologies, successfully tested Naval Research Laboratory technology designed to harness solar energy and transmit power to the ground, and subjected seeds to the radiation environment of space for the purpose of better understanding how to sustain humans on long-term crewed missions to the moon and beyond.
The X-37B is a dynamic and responsive spacecraft responsible for conducting a range of tests and experiments that expedite the development of critical next-generation technologies and operational concepts for reusable space capabilities.
Quelle: United States Space Force
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Update: 20.08.2025
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X-37B mission: What to know about secret Space Force space plane launch this week
- The U.S. Space Force's X-37B space plane is set to launch its eighth mission from Kennedy Space Center.
- The mission, designated USSF-36, will focus on testing laser communications and a new navigation sensor.
- The launch is scheduled for no earlier than August 21, with backup windows available.
A secret space plane from the U.S. Space Force is set to fly on its eighth mission − one aimed at demonstrating critical space technology for deep space exploration.
Just under six months post-landing, the Boeing-built X-37B Space Force space plane is slated to fly again no earlier than 11:40 p.m. Thursday, August 21, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A.
SpaceX and the Space Force haven't revealed an exact launch time, but the Federal Aviation Administration advisory suggests the launch window runs until 5:11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 22.
Should it be needed, an additional launch window is listed as opening midnight Saturday, Aug. 23.
When did X-37B last fly?
The space plane was last launched atop a Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 28, 2023, and landed in March 2025 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California after spending more than 434 days quietly cruising around the Earth.
The space plane's next mission is referred to as USSF-36. Very little has been revealed about the X-37B, yet occasional details about its missions are dropped by the Space Force and Boeing.
Here's what we know about the Space Force's X-37B space plane.
Does the Space Force X-37B carry humans?
The X-37B does not carry humans -- only Space Force experiments aimed at pushing American space technology.
The uncrewed X-37B is a bit like NASA's Space Shuttle — but is launched differently. Instead of being mounted onto boosters like the space shuttle, the X-37B is launched as a payload atop a rocket, encased inside protective fairing covers.
Those fairing covers are shed after liftoff, and the X-37B orbits around the Earth like a mini space shuttle. According to Boeing, the X-37B is about one-fourth the size of the space shuttle.
Upon returning to Earth, the X-37B glides onto a runway for a landing similar to a regular aircraft.
Having it glide onto the runway allows the spacecraft to be ready for flight much sooner than if it were to splashdown. Boeing's website states that the autonomous re-entry capability of the X-37B allows for not just a smooth returns to Earth, but a fast refurbishment and turn-around time for its next flight.
What has the Boeing X-37B space plane done in space?
On top of snapping a photo of Earth from a very high orbit -- an image which caught the public's attention on social media in February 2025 -- the X-37B performed a first on its last mission.
On its seventh flight, the space plane demonstrated an aerobraking maneuver. This involved using atmospheric drag to adjust its orbit while using minimal fuel.
Even in orbit, there are still traces of atmosphere which can interact with orbiting objects. While the X-37B orbits between 150-500 miles above the Earth, the highest layer of the atmosphere, known as the exosphere, extends to over 6,200 miles above the surface. And should the X-37B be crusing at 373 miles or less, that brings it into Earth's thermosphere.
Aerobreaking was only a part of the mission. But much of what it's testing is secret.
What is the Space Force X-37B doing on this mission?
So what is this mysterious space plane doing on this upcoming mission? Turns out it's mostly about testing means of communication and navigation in orbit.
According to Boeing, the X-37B will be carrying experiments for the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defense Innovation Unit.
"First, laser communications demos in Low Earth Orbit will contribute to more efficient and secure satellite communications in the future. The shorter wavelength of infrared light allows more data to be sent with each transmission," Space Force commander General Chance Saltzman wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
There will also be testing of a new sensor, which will enable GPS contact where communication would have previously been difficult.
This includes beyond Earth orbit and around the moon, according to Boeing.
"This mission is about more than innovation. It’s about making our Joint Force more connected, more resilient, and ready to operate in the face of any challenge. That’s how America’s Space Force secures our Nation’s interests in, from, and to space," said Saltzman.
When did the Space Force first launch the X-37B space plane?
The reusable space plane first launched in April 2010 atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral.
According to Boeing, the X-37B space plane has racked up over 1.3 billion miles during its seven orbital expeditions.
Quelle: Florida Today
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Update: 21.08.2025
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SpaceX to launch X-37B military spaceplane on Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center
Update Aug. 20, 12:56 p.m. EDT: Added additional information from the 45th Weather Squadron.
The U.S. Space Force and SpaceX are preparing to launch the Boeing-built X-37B spaceplane on its eighth mission shortly before midnight on Thursday. The winged spacecraft, flying under the mission names USSF-36 and Orbital Test Vehicle 8 (OTV-8), will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 11:50 p.m. EDT (0350 UTC).
The X-37B will be operated by the Fifth Space Operations Squadron, part of USSF Delta 9, alongside the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (USAF RCO).
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.
Meteorologists with the 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 65 percent chance for favorable conditions for liftoff at the opening launch window Thursday night. Conditions improve to 80 percent favorable as the window progresses.
They’re primarily watching for impacts from Hurricane Erin as it continues to move alongside the East Coast of the United States.
“The very large Hurricane Erin will continue moving north and eventually northeast off the eastern coast of the US and out into the open Atlantic through the remainder of the week,” launch weather officers wrote. “As it does so, it will leave behind a trailing trough and deeper moisture that will merge with a boundary dropping into the southeastern US. Prevailing flow will shift out of the west into Thursday, which will lead to the best coverage of afternoon and evening storms favoring the east side of the state including the Spaceport.”
SpaceX will use the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number B1092, which will launch for a sixth time. Its previous missions include CRS-32, GPS III-7 SV 08 and NROL-69.
A little more than 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1092 will aim for a landing at Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. If successful, this will be the 13th touchdown at LZ-2 and the 490th booster landing to date.
The X-37B was encapsulated inside Falcon payload fairing on Aug. 14 and then transported to LC-39A for integration with the rest of the Falcon 9 rocket. The full stack rolled out to the pad Wednesday morning.
This is the third time that a Falcon rocket will launch one of these spaceplanes. SpaceX launched the OTV-5 mission on its Falcon 9 rocket and OTV-7 using its Falcon Heavy. The other X-37B missions were lofted by United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket.
The more powerful Falcon Heavy was needed for the last X-37B mission in order to send the vehicle into a highly elliptical, high Earth orbit.
Taking wing
The OTV-8 mission comes after the previous seven flights racked up 4,208 days in orbit. The longest continuous mission was OTV-6, which lasted nearly 909 days.
Michelle Parker, vice president of Boeing Space Mission Systems said the company incorporated improvements into its two reusable X-37B spaceplanes since the first flight in 2010. The first of the two will fly the OTV-8 mission.
“Over the course of our missions, we’ve flown several generations of batteries and solar cells that have significantly improved our power generation capability,” said Parker. “We’ve enhanced the thermal protection tiles to improve maximum temperature capability, manufacturability, and reusability.
“Mission 7 broke new ground with fault protection, autonomy, and collision avoidance. Autonomy is going to be critical as space becomes more congested and we operate the spaceplane in multiple orbital regimes.”
This time around, the Space Force has two areas of focus that it’s highlighting: communications and navigational accuracy.
The former will be demonstrated through a laser communications experiment, which will “mark an important step in the U.S. Space Force’s ability to leverage proliferated space networks as part of a diversified and redundant space architectures,” according to Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force.
“In so doing, it will strengthen the resilience, reliability, adaptability and data transport speeds of our satellite communications architecture,” Saltzman added.
The OTV-8 flight will also feature what the Space Force calls “the world’s highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space.” It will demonstrate navigational capabilities without the use of GPS by instead “detecting rotation and acceleration of atoms.”
“OTV 8’s quantum inertial sensor demonstration is a welcome step forward for operational resilience in space,” said Col. Ramsey Horn, Space Delta 9 commander. “Whether navigating beyond Earth based orbits in cislunar space or operating in GPS-denied environments, quantum inertial sensing allows for robust navigation capabilities when GPS navigation is not possible.”
It’s unclear how long the X-37B will remain in space this time around. Only one mission so far lasted less than a year and that was the first flight, OTV-1, which took off Florida in April 2010 and landed in California in December of that year.
SpaceX Launches X-37B Spaceplane For Eighth Mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off Aug. 21 from Kennedy Space Center carrying USSF-36, the eighth mission of the X-37B orbital test vehicle.
Credit: SpaceX
The U.S. Space Force and SpaceX launched the X-37B orbital test vehicle for its eighth mission on Aug. 21, carrying operational demonstrations for laser link communications and quantum-based navigation to orbit.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched at 11:50 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, carrying the Boeing-built spaceplane under the USSF-36 mission.
The uncrewed spaceplane successfully reached its intended orbit to begin the mission, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman confirmed Aug. 22 on X, formerly Twitter.
The X-37B "continues to prove itself as a premier testing platform aiding in experiments to better understand our future in space," Space Launch Delta 45 Commander Col. Brian Chatman said in an Aug. 22 statement. "These experiments, X-37B itself and Space Launch Delta 45's ability to perform fast, flexible launches all play crucial roles in bolstering our resilience and enhancing our ability to swiftly adapt to the challenges in space of today and tomorrow."
The X-37B is returning to orbit about 5.5 months after its seventh mission, known as Orbital Test Vehicle-7 (OTV-7), concluded on March 7.
During this latest mission, OTV-8, the Space Force plans to test laser-enabled space-based communications, as well as a quantum inertial sensor built by Vector Atomic under a Defense Innovation Unit contract. The Space Force has described it as “the world’s highest-performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space.”
The mission also features a Boeing integrated service module that increases payload capacity for on-orbit experiments. The X-37B previously flew with the service module on OTV-6 and OTV-7.
The Space Force maintains two Boeing-built uncrewed, reusable X-37B spacecraft under a program managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO). The platform was designed as a variant of NASA’s X-37A, and is boosted into space via a launch vehicle before returning to Earth horizontally on a runway. Its first mission launched in 2010; since then, the two spaceplanes have collectively spent more than 4,200 days in space. Boeingteams primarily based in Seal Beach, California, and Kennedy Space Center design, build, integrate and operate the X-37B.
Michelle Parker, vice president of Boeing Space Missions Systems, lauded the team in place to make the X-37B mission a success. "Launch is the starting line for this mission, but the work that follows—the quiet, methodical work on orbit, analysis and eventual return—is where progress is earned," she said in an Aug. 22 statement.
A Department of the Air Force spokesperson declined to provide information about the vehicle performing the eighth mission, nor about the X-37B’s program cost or budget information.
“The X-37B continues to forge forward with the technologies of tomorrow,” Lt. Col. Blaine Stewart, X-37B program director at the RCO, said in an Aug. 21 statement.
This launch marked the sixth flight for SpaceX’s B1092 first stage, the company said. The booster landed on SpaceX’s Landing Zone 2 at Cape Canaveral SFS, just under 9 min. after liftoff.
SpaceX has launched two prior X-37B missions for the Space Force. OTV-5 launched Sept. 17, 2017, on a Falcon 9, while OTV-7 launched Dec. 29, 2023, on a Falcon Heavy rocket—the program’s first and, so far, sole launch on the super heavy-lift launch vehicle. For both missions, the booster lifted off from the Cape and returned to the landing zone.
United Launch Alliance boosted the X-37B's other five previous missions—OTV-1 through -4 and OTV-6—via its Atlas V 501 launch vehicle. The Air Force spokesperson would not comment on whether ULA's new Vulcan Centaur rocket—now operating national security space missions—would launch future X-37B vehicles.
It is unclear how long the X-37B will continue its on-orbit operations. Prior mission durations have ranged from just over 224 days for its inaugural mission, to nearly 909 days for its longest mission to date, OTV-6. During the last mission, OTV-7, the vehicle spent more than 434 days in space while operating in a highly elliptical orbit for the first time, then performing a novel aerobraking maneuver to descend to low Earth orbit (LEO), dispose of its service module and continue operations in LEO before returning to Earth.
Quelle: AVIATION WEEK
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