KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – SpaceX late Thursday launched another X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle mission for the U.S. Space Force.
The USSF-36 mission took off at 11:50 p.m. Aug. 21 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County, according to SpaceX’s website.
This will be the sixth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-69, CRS-32, GPS III-7, and two Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on SpaceX’s Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
SpaceX
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The X-37B is a secretive Boeing-made military space plane that can stay in orbit for more than a year.
The X-37B’s landings have been known to produce sonic booms. It last returned to Earth in March after spending 434 days in orbit during its seventh test flight, where it reportedly conducted military experiments.
Thursday’s mission marked the third time a Falcon 9 rocket has been used to launch the space plane, only having done so previously for its fifth and seventh jaunts in 2017 and 2023, respectively, according to SpaceX.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.