The secretive X-37B space shuttle of the U.S. military has been reactivated. It was successfully launched again last night aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. While most of the mission objectives remain classified, the U.S. Space Force has revealed some details about the program.
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A Miniature Robotic Space Shuttle
The X-37B is one of the most clandestine crafts in the American arsenal. It is a fully robotic and reusable spacecraft, resembling a scaled-down version of NASA’s former Space Shuttle.
Its official role is to act as an experimental platform in orbit for new military technologies. It is renowned for its extended missions, with the previous one lasting 434 days. In total, the two existing models have spent over eleven years in orbit.
Featuring Lasers and Quantum Navigation
For this eighth mission, named OTV-8, the U.S. Space Force has disclosed two onboard experiments. The first involves testing a high-speed laser communication system between the shuttle and commercial satellite networks in low Earth orbit (likely Starlink).
The second experiment is even more futuristic: a “quantum inertial sensor“, a novel type of navigation system that could enable a spacecraft to determine its position and velocity without relying on GPS.
A Mission Classified “Top Secret”
The remainder of the mission remains top secret. As usual for such launches, SpaceX cut off the live broadcast of the launch just after the rocket’s first stage was recovered, at the request of the military.
The duration of the mission, its precise orbit, and the nature of the other technologies being tested on board remain undisclosed.
What’s the Takeaway?
This successful launch reaffirms SpaceX’s status as an essential and reliable partner of the American military-industrial complex. Elon Musk’s company is now fully capable of launching the nation’s most sensitive payloads.
The two disclosed experiments are intriguing. They clearly illustrate the strategic priorities of the U.S. military for the coming years: developing faster, secure space communications that cannot be intercepted, and ensuring operational capabilities even if the GPS network were to be jammed or destroyed during a conflict. The X-37B clearly serves as the flying laboratory for preparing for future warfare. And you, does the development of military technologies for space concern you?