30.07.2025

Secretive Space Force X-37 space plane headed back to launch pad. Here's what we know.

The mysterious Space Force space plane is headed back to the Florida launch pad.

The Boeing-built X-37B is ready to see its eighth mission less than six months after completing its last. Currently being prepared for launch at Boeing's facilities at Kennedy Space Center, according to a statement from the company, and is slated for a liftoff no earlier than August 21 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A.

The space plane landed quietly in early March at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The vehicle spent over 430 days cruising around the Earth.

That mission was launched launched atop a Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 28, 2023. Now the Space Coast is set to see this mysterious space vehicle launch again.

What will the X-37B space plane be doing for the Space Force?

So what is this mysterious space plane doing on this mission? Turns out it's mostly about testing means of communication and navigation in orbit.

According to Boeing, the X-37B will be carrying experiments for the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defense Innovation Unit.

"First, laser communications demos in Low Earth Orbit will contribute to more efficient and secure satellite communications in the future. The shorter wavelength of infrared light allows more data to be sent with each transmission," Space Force commander General Chance Saltzman wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

There will also be testing of a new sensor, which will enable GPS contact where communication would have previously been difficult.

"We’re also demoing the world’s highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space. Bottom line: Testing this tech will be helpful for navigation in contested environments where GPS may be degraded or denied," said Saltzman.

This includes beyond Earth orbit and around the moon, according to Boeing.

"This mission is about more than innovation. It’s about making our Joint Force more connected, more resilient, and ready to operate in the face of any challenge. That’s how America’s Space Force secures our Nation’s interests in, from, and to space," said Saltzman.

X-37B space plane stats

The X-37B is a bit like NASA's Space Shuttle — however it is uncrewed and launched as a payload as opposed to on the side of boosters. According to Boeing, the X-37B has a body and landing operation similar to the Space Shuttle, however it is smaller, measuring in at just one-fourth the size of the shuttle.

The reusable space plane, first launched in 2010. It has seen over 4,200 days in orbit.

The X-37B last caught attention in December, when the Space Force released photo of Earth taken by the X-37B from a high orbit.

While that last mission was over 430 days, some missions are longer than others. FLORIDA TODAY previously reported the sixth flight of the X-37B lasted 908 days. It is unknown how long the X-37B will be in orbit for its upcoming eighth mission.

According to Boeing, the space plane orbits between 150-500 miles above the Earth.

Due to the X-37B being a classified Space Force mission, details remain limited.

Quelle: Florida Today

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US Space Force scheduled to launch eighth X-37B mission

The U.S. Space Force, in partnership with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, is scheduled to launch the eighth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-8) on Aug. 21, 2025, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
X-37B Mission 8 will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, designated USSF-36, with a wide range of test and experimentation objectives. These operational demonstrations and experiments comprise of next-generation technologies including laser communications and the highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space. Mission partners include the Air Force Research Lab and the Defense Innovation Unit, respectively.

Mission 8 will contribute to improving the resilience, efficiency and security of U.S. space­ based communications architectures by conducting laser communications demonstrations involving proliferated commercial satellite networks in Low Earth Orbit. Laser communications are integral to the future of space communications as the shorter wavelength of infrared light increases the amount of data that can be sent with each transmission. Additionally, they are more secure than traditional radio frequency transmissions owing to the more targeted nature of laser beams. The use of proliferated relay networks enhances the resilience of U.S. space architectures by ensuring that they contain no single point of failure.
These experiments come as part of a broader push across the U.S. Space Force to uphold the safety and security of the space domain by enhancing the resilience and flexibility of U.S. orbital systems. Commenting on the significance of this demonstration, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman stated, "OTV-8's laser communications demonstration will mark an important step in the U.S. Space Force's ability to leverage proliferated space networks as part of a diversified and redundant space architectures. In so doing, it will strengthen the resilience, reliability, adaptability and data transport speeds of our satellite communications architecture."
Additionally, Mission 8 will demonstrate the world's highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space. This demonstration will inform accurate unaided navigation in space by detecting rotation and acceleration of atoms without reliance on satellite networks like traditional GPS. This technology is useful for navigation in GPS-denied environments and consequently will enhance the navigational resilience of U.S. spacecraft in the face of current and emerging threats. As quantum inertial sensors would be useful for navigation in cis­lunar space, they additionally promise to push the technological frontiers of long-distance space travel and exploration.
Speaking on the quantum inertial sensor demonstration, Col. Ramsey Horn, Space Delta 9 commander, asserted, "OTV 8's quantum inertial sensor demonstration is a welcome step forward for operational resilience in space. Whether navigating beyond Earth based orbits in cislunar space or operating in GPS-denied environments, quantum inertial sensing allows for robust navigation capabilities when GPS navigation is not possible. Ultimately, this technology contributes significantly to our thrust within the Fifth Space Operations Squadron and across the Space Force guaranteeing movement and maneuverability even in GPS-denied environments." The Fifth Space Operations Squadron, within USSF Delta 9 conducts day-to-day on-orbit operations of the X-37B in partnership with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
The X-37B is a dynamic and responsive spacecraft responsible for conducting a range of tests and experiments that expedite the development of critical next-generation technologies and operational concepts for reusable space capabilities.

Quelle: United States Space Force

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A secretive space plane is set to launch and test quantum navigation technology

"Testing this tech will be helpful for navigation in contested environments."

The X-37B, the US Space Force's secretive space plane, will soon take flight again.

On Monday, the Space Force announced that it will fly the small, Space Shuttle-shaped vehicle on the program's eighth mission next month. The launch of the vehicle, on a Falcon 9 rocket, is scheduled to occur no earlier than August 21 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

There are two active X-37Bs in the Space Force fleet, both built by Boeing. The first made its debut flight in April 2010. Since then, the two uncrewed spacecraft have made a succession of longer flights. The first made its longest and latest flight from 2020 to 2022 over a span of 908 days. The second flew more recently, landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base on March 7 after 434 days in orbit.

It's likely that the first of these two vehicles, both of which are about 29 feet (9 meters) long and roughly one-quarter the length of one of NASA's Space Shuttle orbiters, will launch next month.

Some details about the upcoming flight

Over the past decade and a half, the Space Force has largely remained silent about the purpose of this space plane, flying classified payloads and providing only limited information about the purpose of each flight.

However, for this flight, OTV-8, the military has provided a bit more detail about its intentions. The vehicle will fly with a service module that will expand its capacity for experiments, allowing the space plane to host payload for the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defense Innovation Unit.

The mission's goals include tests of "high-bandwidth inter-satellite laser communications technologies."

"OTV-8's laser communications demonstration will mark an important step in the US Space Force's ability to leverage commercial space networks as part of proliferated, diversified, and redundant space architectures," said US Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman in a statement. "In so doing, it will strengthen the resilience, reliability, adaptability, and data transport speeds of our satellite communications architectures."

Navigating in a world without GPS

The space plane will also advance the development of a new navigation technology based on electromagnetic wave interference. The Space Force news release characterizes this as the "highest-performing quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space."

Boeing has previously tested a quantum inertial measurement unit, which detects rotation and acceleration using atom interferometry, on conventional aircraft. Now, an advanced version of the technology is being taken to space to demonstrate its viability. The goal of the in-space test is to demonstrate precise positioning, navigation, and timing in an environment where GPS services are not available.

"Bottom line: testing this tech will be helpful for navigation in contested environments where GPS may be degraded or denied," Saltzman said in a social media post Monday, describing the flight.

Quantum inertial sensors could also be used near the Moon, where there is no comparable GPS capability, or for exploration further into the Solar System.

Notably, the small X-37B is back to launching on a medium-lift rocket with this new mission. During its most recent flight that ended in March, the space plane launched on a Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time. This allowed the X-37B to fly beyond low-Earth orbit and reach an elliptical high-Earth orbit.

Quelle: arsTechnica