American aviation company SpaceX sent the US Armed Forces’ experimental unmanned space plane X-37B into space using the Falcon Heavy rocket. This has been officially reported bill SpaceX is on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
“Falcon Heavy launched mission USSF-52 into orbit from Launch Complex 39A,” SpaceX said.
The latest launch was the X-37B’s seventh test flight since 2010.
Previously, the US Department of Defense published data that the USSF-52 mission was related to the tests of the X-37B. Initially, the launch was planned to be held on December 7, but the date was later postponed several times due to bad weather conditions.
“Tests include operating reusable spacecraft in new orbital regimes, experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies, and examining radiation effects on NASA-supplied materials,” the Pentagon said.
The X-37B was developed specifically for the US Air Force by aviation companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The device resembles a scaled-down, reusable Space Shuttle that was discontinued in 2011. The spaceplane has a length of approximately 9 meters, a wingspan of 4.5 meters and a mass of approximately five tons. The vehicle has a cargo carrying capacity of up to 900 kilograms.
Previously SpaceX loss A reusable Falcon 9 rocket that disintegrated in transit after successfully returning to Earth.