The US Space Force has announced the launch date of its not-so-secret, top-secret space plane. X-37B Mission 7 will be launched for the first time on December 7 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. In the annals of notoriously top-secret events, the X-37B sits right next to the RAF Fylingdales radar station in North Yorkshire; During the Cold War, even if it was visible from the road, no one was supposed to know. there, on the swampy plain, like a day.

The X-37B has a similar reputation. It’s officially classified, but it’s also so well-known that the Space Force issued a press release about its upcoming launch, known as Mission 7, or OTV-7, and revealed some of its payload.

The new mission, whose duration has not been announced, will orbit Earth to conduct experiments that the Space Force says will address future space awareness technologies and the long-term effects of cosmic radiation. This will involve a NASA experiment called Seeds-2, which will expose plant seeds to intense radiation for long periods of time.

Mission 7 will also build on the success of Mission 6, which introduced a service module to expand the mission’s capabilities and enable more experimental payloads.

“We are excited to expand the capabilities of the X-37B reusable aircraft using the flight-proven service module and Falcon Heavy rocket to conduct many advanced experiments for the Department of the Air Force and its partners,” said Lt. Col. Joseph. . Fritschen is the director of the X-37B program.