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US Space Force is preparing to launch the X-37B space plane on December 10

  • December 8, 2023
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The US Space Force’s mysterious X-37B spaceplane is almost ready for its seventh flight. Space Force and SpaceX are “making final preparations” for the scheduled launch of the

US Space Force is preparing to launch the X-37B space plane on December 10

The US Space Force’s mysterious X-37B spaceplane is almost ready for its seventh flight. Space Force and SpaceX are “making final preparations” for the scheduled launch of the robotic X-37B on Sunday evening (Dec. 10), Space Force officials said in an updated email today (Dec. 7).

The spacecraft is scheduled to lift off atop a Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida over a 10-minute period, starting at 20:14 ET (01:14 GMT on December 11).

The Space Force is believed to have two X-37B vehicles, both manufactured by Boeing. Spaceplanes look very similar to old NASA orbiters but are much smaller; Both X-37Bs can fit in the payload bay of a single space shuttle.

To date, the two X-37Bs have flown a total of six missions, each longer and more ambitious than the last. The final vehicle, known as OTV-6 (Orbital Test Vehicle-6), touched down in November 2022 after 908 days in Earth orbit.

It is unclear how long the upcoming OTV-7 flight will last; Space forces have released few details about the X-37B missions because most of their payloads are classified. Some of this equipment is likely to be new intelligence tools; Military officials have long said the X-37B was used primarily as a testbed for new technologies.

However, the X-37B also carries some civilian research cargo. For example, one of the unclassified experiments being conducted on OTV-7 is Seeds-2, a NASA project that will test how long-term exposure to space radiation affects seeds.

Source: Port Altele

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