SpaceX launches the Space Force X-37B spikely on a new military test mission

The Experimental Space of the US Space Force, X-37B, is ready for another GO in orbit for an uncompromising duration, in which it will test new technologies aimed at strengthening the military capacities of space.

The orbital test vehicle built by Boeing, appointed as OTV-8, will try to launch Thursday at 11:50 pm from the 39A launch complex (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Spaceen will rise aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, marking the second time that SpaceX launches the orbital vehicle of Space Force. The launch will be broadcast live on the SpaceX website and the company X account, and you can also connect via the live flow below. The live flow will start about 20 minutes before takeoff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?

The launch of Thursday will mark the eighth flight of the vehicle, which will take place only a few months after completing its previous mission. The Spaceplanera an unidentified number of useful loads for the eight flight number, including a demonstration of laser communication technology and a quantum sensor for space navigation.

Laser communication contains more data in each transmission, and it is considered more secure than more commonly used radiofrequency transmissions. The demonstration of laser communications on board OTV-8 will be based on commercial satellites in low terrestrial orbit to transmit data using infrared light. OTV -8 will also use a quantum inertial sensor – an extremely precise device that measures acceleration using the principles of quantum mechanics – to allow navigation without having to count on GPS.

Previously, Space Force’s Spacecelane was launched on December 28, 2023, for its seventh test flight, spending a total of 434 days orbiting before returning to earth on March 7. The most recent mission was significantly shorter than its sixth test flight, which lasted for a record of 908 days in orbit before landing at Kennedy Space Center in NASA in November 2022.

With each launch, the spatial force can focus on a faster turnaround of its reusable and unrelated vehicle rather than trying to extend the duration of each flight. And with each passing mission, the X-37B lost its aura of mystery while the spatial force reveals more on the useful loads of the spacecept. China also develops its own spacept, named Shenlong, which finished its third mission at the end of 2024 after spending 268 days in orbit. The two nations are locked in a race to develop a reusable vehicle recalling the NASA space shuttle, operating as a spacecraft in orbit and landing similar to conventional planes.