SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts America’s top-secret X-37B spaceplane into orbit for record-breaking tests

The SpaceX Falcon 9 has once again made history, this time by launching the mysterious X-37B spaceplane on its eighth mission.

The Boeing-built craft took off from Kennedy Space Center’s iconic Launch Complex 39A in Florida on August 21.

It embarked on another long-duration classified mission, which promises to push the boundaries of orbital testing.

While much of the mission remains shrouded in secrecy, what we do know suggests that the US government is conducting some of its most ambitious and experimental space projects yet.

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The X-37B spaceplane does it all

Officially, the X-37B is called the Orbital Test Vehicle.

Unofficially? It’s kind of like the Swiss Army knife of spaceplanes: small, reusable, and designed to test all kinds of futuristic tech in orbit.

Onboard this time are a few known experiments, like a laser communications system, a quantum navigation sensor that works without GPS, and Boeing’s new service module that lets the plane haul even more experimental gear.

The rest is strictly classified, and you probably won’t know the details until the mission is over.

The numbers behind this little spaceplane are jaw-dropping.

Since its first mission in 2010, the X-37B has quietly spent over 4,200 days in space, zipping more than 1.3 billion miles around Earth.

It was originally designed to stay up for about 260 days at a time, but it has blown past that limit so many times that the record now stands at a staggering 908 days during its sixth flight.

That also makes it the longest spaceplane mission ever, which is pretty wild.

The space race is heating up

The last mission wrapped up only half a year ago and featured a cool first: aerobraking, where the spaceplane used the thin upper atmosphere to slow down and shift orbits without burning fuel.

That kind of tech could be a game-changer for future spacecraft.

For now, the details of this eighth mission are staying locked away.

However, what we do know is that the space race is heating up.

The European Space Agency recently made history with the world’s first spacecraft precision formation flying in orbit, while China’s spacecraft just took a selfie while headed for a moon we’re not supposed to have.

If you’re into space exploration, these are definitely exciting times.

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