What to know as X-37B space plane launches on Falcon Heavy rocket

X-37B space plane is launching on top of Falcon Heavy rocket
Vehicle will conduct "wide range of test and experimentation objectives"
Defense officials have not given many details on latest mission

Updated: Dec 11, 2023 / 04:46 PM CST

The Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) is shown at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. (Boeing /U.S. Space Force via AP)

(NewsNation) — The military’s X-37B space plane is set to launch Monday evening, orbiting atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time.

Initially scheduled for Sunday, the launch was delayed until Monday because of inclement weather. It will take place at 8:14 p.m. ET on Monday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX will stream a live webcast of the mission on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

This is the seventh mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and the ninth launch of the Falcon Heavy.

During past flights, the X-37B has flown at altitude below 1,200 miles. On Monday, though, it will be on SpaceX’s more powerful Falcon Heavy rocket, which can go into geosynchronous orbit — more than 22,000 miles above the Earth, Reuters wrote.

Built by Boeing, the X-37B is about the size of a small bus. It is built to deploy various payloads and conduct technology experiments in long-duration orbital flights. In its latest mission, the Space Force says the X-37B will have a “wide range of test and experimentation objectives,” including operating in new orbital regimes, experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies and investigating the radiation effects on materials provided by NASA.

“We are excited to expand the envelope of the reusable X-37B’s capabilities, using the flight-proven service module and Falcon Heavy rocket to fly multiple cutting-edge experiments for the Department of the Air Force and its partners,” Lt. Col. Joseph Fritschen, the X-37B program director, said in a news release.

Officials at the Pentagon have not disclosed many details about the mission, which the U.S. Air Force and Space Force are conducting. However, the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office said in a statement that this latest mission will involve tests of “new orbital regimes, experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies.”

According to Space Force, the X-37B has accrued 3,774 days in space since its first launch in April 2010.

Past X-37B missions experimented with technology to harness solar energy and transmit power to the ground, tested the effects of long-duration space exposure to organic materials for NASA and helped launch a spacecraft designed and operated by Air Force cadets.

Reuters contributed to this story.