SpaceX launches US Space Force’s reusable X-37B space plane on classified mission

ISTANBUL

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the US Space Force’s reusable X-37B space plane on a classified long-duration mission late Thursday, marking the eighth flight of the program since its debut in 2010.

The mission is the first since the X-37B completed a 434-day flight last March, CBS News reported.

Because of the classified nature of the launch, SpaceX ended its live commentary after the first stage landed and did not provide details about the Falcon 9’s second stage, the release of the Boeing-built X-37B, or its orbital path.

Officials from the Space Force and Boeing confirmed that two experimental payloads were on board.

One will test high-speed laser communications between the X-37B and small relay satellites that are part of a growing space-based network.

The other is a quantum navigation sensor designed to determine a spacecraft’s exact position in space by “detecting rotation and acceleration of atoms without reliance on satellite networks like traditional GPS,” according to Space Force.