US Space Force Sends X-37B on Classified Mission

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the U.S. Space Force's reusable X-37B spaceplane late Thursday on a long-duration classified mission, marking the program’s eighth flight since its debut in 2010, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.

The mission is the first since the X-37B completed a 434-day flight last March, CBS News reported.

Due to the classified nature of the launch, SpaceX ended its live commentary after the first-stage landing and did not provide further details regarding the second stage of the Falcon 9, the deployment of the Boeing-built X-37B, or its orbital path.

Officials from the Space Force and Boeing confirmed that two experimental payloads were onboard. One will test high-speed laser communications between the X-37B and small satellites that are part of a growing space-based network.

The other payload is a quantum navigation sensor designed to determine a spacecraft’s precise position in space by “detecting the spin and acceleration of atoms without relying on satellite networks like traditional GPS.”