The U.S. military’s secretive X-37B robot spaceplane is scheduled for a historic launch from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center atop SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket.
The launch, planned for Monday night during a 10-minute window starting at 8:14 p.m. EST, marks the vehicle’s seventh mission to orbit and its first launch using the Falcon Heavy, which is capable of reaching higher altitudes than previous missions.
Initially set for Sunday but postponed due to weather conditions, the launch has a 70% chance of favorable weather on Monday night, as per U.S. Space Systems Command. The X-37B, developed by Boeing and resembling a miniature space shuttle, is designed for long-duration orbital flights to deploy payloads and conduct technology experiments.
Since its first mission in 2010, the X-37B has completed six missions, with the last one lasting over two years before returning in November 2022. Traditionally launched into low-Earth orbit, the latest mission aboard the more powerful Falcon Heavy could potentially reach geosynchronous orbit, over 22,000 miles above Earth.
Details of the mission, conducted by the U.S. Air Force and Space Force under the National Security Space Launch program, remain largely undisclosed. However, the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office hinted at testing “new orbital regimes and future space domain awareness technologies,” according to Reuters.
Additionally, the X-37B carries a NASA experiment to study the effects of space radiation on plant seeds. The duration of this mission is not specified, but it is expected to follow the trend of increasingly longer flights, potentially remaining in orbit until June 2026 or later.
Space Force General B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, suggested in 2020 that the X-37B might be nearing its final mission, indicating a shift towards newer technologies.
This launch marks the ninth for SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and the third time it has been used by the U.S. government for a national security payload. A backup launch opportunity is available on Tuesday, December 12. SpaceX will host a live webcast of the mission approximately 15 minutes before liftoff.
The mission also features the fifth launch and landing of the Falcon Heavy side boosters, which will land at SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Lift off is in under two hours; get ready to see dual Falcon 9 boosters landing at the same time (always a treat).
