Secretive SpaceX rocket set to blast off from Earth in record-breaking flight
A secretive SpaceX rocket is set to blast off from Earth on Monday as part of a mission for the US Space Force.
The X-37B will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time – which could send it higher than ever before.
The Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a reusable robotic spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth’s atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. Theories on what the craft is used for have included use as a spy satellite or to deliver weapons from space.
The X-37B is due to lift off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 8.14pm ET (1.14am UK), carrying the secretive X-37B space plane on its seventh mission. SpaceX said the flight from Kennedy Space Center, Florida had been delayed from Sunday due to weather conditions.
The X-37B will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the first tim
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said: “This seventh flight of the X-37B continues to demonstrate the innovative spirit of the United States Space Force.”
Mission goals are usually kept secret but a NASA experiment onboard has been detailed. It will expose plant seeds to the harsh radiation environment of long-duration spaceflight.
Known as “Seeds-2,” the experiment follows successful prior experiments, paving the way for future crewed space missions. X-37B launches have previously employed United Launch Alliance Atlas V rockets, with one using a SpaceX Falcon 9.
Mission goals are usually kept secret but a NASA experiment onboard has been detailed
A USSF statement from November explained: “The X-37B Mission 7 will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time, designated USSF-52, with a wide range of test and experimentation objectives.
“These tests include operating the reusable spaceplane in new orbital regimes, experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies, and investigating the radiation effects on materials provided by NASA.”
The launch was originally scheduled for Sunday but had to be pushed back due to poor weather.
The X-37B is due to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center
“Now targeting Monday, 11 December for Falcon Heavy’s launch of the USSF-52 mission, with weather conditions forecasted to improve to 70 per cent favourable for liftoff on Monday night,” SpaceX posted to Twitter, on Sunday. “The team will use the time to complete additional pre-launch checkouts.”
It comes after SpaceX back in Paril was told it must take a series of steps before it can launch its mega-rocket again after its debut ended in an explosion.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it closed its investigation into SpaceX’s failed debut of Starship, the world’s biggest rocket. The agency is requiring SpaceX to take 63 corrective actions and to apply for a modified FAA license before launching again.
FAA officials said multiple problems led to the April launch explosion, which sent pieces of concrete and metal hurtling for thousands of feet and created a plume of pulverized concrete that spread for miles around.