A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off Thursday evening, propelling a reusable X-37B space rocket airplane in space in a long-term mission. It was the eighth of this type since the beginnings of the program in 2010 and the first since a 434 -day mission ending last March.
Lighting the night sky for miles away on foot, the Falcon 9 moved away from the historic 39a pad at Kennedy Space Center at 11:50 p.m. Hae, arcant on a northeast trajectory at the top of 1.7 million pounds of push of the nine first-stage engines of the booster.
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After the spacecraft came out of the lower atmosphere, the engines closed, the first step fades, turned and rekindled three engines to reverse the course and return to Florida. Announced by a Boom Sonic attracting attention, the Booster landed at the Cape Canaveral space station nearby to conclude its sixth flight.
It was the 66th Booster Landing of SpaceX in Florida and the successful 490th of the company overall.
As usual with the classified missions Space Force, SpaceX ended its launch comment with the landing in the first step and offered no information on the second stage of the Falcon 9 in orbit, when the X-37B built by Boeing had to be released to fly alone, or any detail on its orbit.
The seven previous X -37B missions – three by the orbit were launched Thursday and four by a twin sister ship – all carried out long -term missions ranging from 224 days to almost 909 days. It is not known how long the X-37B launched Thursday will remain in orbit.
Although thefts are generally classified, managers of spatial force and Boeing have publicly discussed two of the useful loads on board.
One will test high-speed and closely targeted laser communications between X-37B relay satellites and small data constituting a growing “proliferated” spatial communication system.
The tests “mark an important step in the capacity of the American spatial force to take advantage of the proliferated space networks as part of a diversified and redundant space architecture,” said General Chance Saltzman, director of space operations for the American space force.
American spatial force 
“In doing so, it will strengthen resilience, reliability, adaptability and data transport speeds of our satellite communication architecture.”
The other publicly disclosed useful load is a sophisticated quantum navigation sensor designed to determine the precise position of a space vessel in space by “detecting the rotation and acceleration of atoms without dependence on satellite networks such as traditional GPS”, said spatial force in an online description.
“Whether navigating beyond earth-based orbits in the Cislunar space or working in environments in accordance with GPS, quantum inertia detection allows robust navigation capacities when GPS navigation is not possible,” said Space Delta 9, Colonel Ramsey Horn.
“In the end, this technology contributes significantly to our thrust within the fifth squadron of space operations and through the spatial force guaranteeing movement and maneuverability even in GS environments.”
Dressed in black thermal shield tiles and white insulation blankets, the uninsured X-37B looks like a mini space wardrobe with truncated delta wings and two tail fins stretching on each side of the fuselage back. It can be launched at the top of SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy Rockets or the Atlas 5 of United Launch Alliance and Vulcan Boosters.
Two practically identical X-37B orbital test vehicles, or OTV, are operated by the Pentagon rapid capacity office for American spatial force. Vehicles are designed to serve as flowerbeds for airplanes and advanced sensors, to assess reusable spaceship components and to provide a platform for experiences that can be returned to Earth for analysis.
Propelled by solar cells and batteries, orbiters have a small bay of payload similar to a space shuttle that can accommodate a variety of sensors and experimentation packages.
Compact spacecrafts are designed to end their missions with track landings in Vandenberg Space Force Base in California or Kennedy Space Center in Florida using 3 miles long, originally designed for space shuttle.
The most recent flight of an X-37B began with a launch at the top of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on December 29, 2023. It ended on March 7With the Kennedy Space Center after 434 days and six hours in space. By entering the mission of Thursday, the two X-37Bs had recorded 11 and a half years in space on seven flights.
