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The X-37B spaceplane. | Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense Current Photos/Flickr (PDM 1.0)
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Hawthorne-based SpaceX successfully launched a secretive U.S. Space Force “Orbital Test Vehicle” from Kennedy Space Center in Florida Thursday evening.
The seventh mission of the X-37B spaceplane was launched by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket shortly after 5 p.m. California time. No details of the X-37B’s mission or destination were released.
According to Space Systems Command, the plane is a test program “to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform” for the Space Force.
The X-37B vehicle is built by Boeing and roughly resembles a smaller version of a space shuttle. The unmanned craft is capable of landing back on Earth like an airplane.