While aerospace stock Boeing’s (BA) space ambitions have not exactly gone well in the past—the less said about the Starliner debacle the better, at least for now—there are some signs it might be able to get some credibility back. In fact, Boeing recently saw the launch of the X-37B space plane for the Space Force. Investors were modestly pleased, and …
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Relive SpaceX’s nighttime launch of the X-37B space plane with these dazzling photos
SpaceX shared stunning photos of its Falcon 9 rocket carrying the U.S. Space Force’s secretive X-37B space plane into orbit last week. The pictures capture the nighttime launch on Aug. 21, when the robotic X-37B, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at …
Read More »Mysterious X-37B spaceplane flies again, with ‘quantum GPS’ • The Register
The US military’s Boeing-built X-37B spaceplane is in space again for its eighth mission. The X-37B is an uncrewed craft that, just like the USA’s retired Space Shuttle, launches on a rocket and after re-entry makes an unpowered landing on a terrestrial runway. The vehicle has engines it can use to maneuver in space, but in 2024 deliberately grazed Earth’s …
Read More »US military’s X-37B spaceplane stays relevant with launch of another mission
“Quantum inertial sensors are not only scientifically intriguing, but they also have direct defense applications,” said Lt. Col. Nicholas Estep, an Air Force engineer who manages the DIU’s emerging technology portfolio. “If we can field devices that provide a leap in sensitivity and precision for observing platform motion over what is available today, then there’s an opportunity for strategic gains …
Read More »SpaceX launches Space Force’s X-37B spaceplane to demo laser communications, quantum navigation – Spaceflight Now
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaks away from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to begin the USSF-36 mission with the X-37B spaceplane onboard. More than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, tail number 1092, landed with a sonic boom at Landing Zone 2. Image: John Pisani/Spaceflight Now Update Aug. 22, 9:47 a.m. EDT: Added quotes …
Read More »SpaceX launches Space Force’s X-37B space plane on 8th mystery mission
The latest mission of the U.S. Space Force’s mysterious X-37B space plane is underway. The robotic X-37B lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida tonight (Aug. 21) at 11:50 p.m. EDT (0350 GMT on Aug. 22). The Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth as planned 8.5 minutes later, touching down …
Read More »Watch SpaceX launch US Space Force’s classified X-37B space plane today
In the dark of night, SpaceX will launch the mysterious X-37B space plane for the U.S. Space Force (USSF). A Falcon 9 rocket will launch the mission, USSF-36, from Pad 39A, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida, carrying the Boeing-built X-37B on the orbital transfer vehicle’s eighth flight (OTV-8). Launch is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 21, at 11:50 …
Read More »Secretive X37-B space plane to test quantum navigation system — scientists hope it will one day replace GPS
A US military space-plane, the X-37B orbital test vehicle, is due to embark on its eighth flight into space on August 21, 2025. Much of what the X-37B does in space is secret. But it serves partly as a platform for cutting-edge experiments. One of these experiments is a potential alternative to GPS that makes use of quantum science as …
Read More »U.S. military X-37B spaceplane prepares for eighth mission
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force announced a launch window for the next mission of the X-37B reusable spaceplane. The eighth flight of the Boeing-built plane, officially designated Orbital Test Vehicle-8 (OTV-8), is scheduled to lift off no earlier than August 21 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. To continue reading this article: Register now …
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