Secretive US spaceship set to launch into orbit
A secretive U.S. spaceship is set to launch into orbit.
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-7), an experimental space plane operated by the United States Space Force (USSF), will blast off for its eighth mission on August 21.
The U.S. Space Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Mission Seven successfully landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. (Pix via Adam Shanks/USSF/Boeing / SWNS)
Artist rendering of the X-37B conducting an aerobraking maneuver using the drag of Earth’s atmosphere. (Pix via Courtesy Boeing Space / SWNS)
While the existence of X-37B is not a secret, its operations, full range of capabilities, and most of its mission details remain highly classified, maintaining an aura of mystery around the advanced spaceplane.
An official painting of the X-37B, unveiled in 2023, depicted the futuristic vehicle intercepting an adversary satellite that appears to be positioning to disable a friendly satellite.
However, USSF did reveal in a July 28 statement: “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.”
Archive picture shows U.S. Space Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) landed after a record-breaking 908 days in orbit, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida (Pix via Adam Shanks/USSF/Boeing / SWNS)
General Chance Saltzman, United States Space Force Chief of Space Operations. (Pix via USSF / SWNS)
General Chance Saltzman, Space Force Chief of Space Operations, suggested some of the technology will be tested for potential use in warzones. He added: “Bottom line: testing this tech will be helpful for navigation in contested environments where GPS may be degraded or denied.”
X-37B Mission 8 will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
