X-37B

The US Space Force's secret-but-not-really-secret spaceplane will carry out a novel maneuver called aerobraking to change its orbit. Instead of using thrusters, the robotic spacecraft will dip into the Earth's atmosphere to change its trajectory.

The US Space Force's X-37B spaceplane has launched successfully on its multi-year orbital mission. At 8:07 pm EST, the unmanned vehicle set atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy booster lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The US Space Force has announced the launch date of its not-so-secret top secret spaceplane. The X-37B Mission 7 will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on December 7 atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time.

When the US Air Force's X-37B autonomous spaceplane launched into orbit for the sixth time this week, it carried an experiment to explore the potential for beaming solar energy from space to Earth using microwaves.

The US Air Force's not-so-secret spaceplane has successfully launched on its sixth mission, OTV-6 (USSF 7). On May 17, 2020, at 13:14 GMT, the unmanned, autonomous spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral atop a specially modified Atlas V 501 rocket.

A secretive space plane developed by the US Air Force is being readied for another outing. Scheduled for May 16, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle’s sixth mission will see a new emphasis placed on onboard experiments.

The USAF's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Mission 5 has ended in a surprise pre-dawn landing after a record-breaking 780-day flight. Like the previous four missions, the exact purpose of the highly-classified unmanned spaceplane's flight was a secret, though the Air Force says that its general goals were "risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies," as well as the deployment of some small satellites.

SpaceX entered the world of classified space flights this Thursday, as it launched the Orbital Test Vehicle 5 (OTV-5) mission at 10:00 am EDT atop a Falcon 9 booster from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying the secret US Air Force X-37B spaceplane.

The US Air Force's not-so-secret spaceplane is getting a new ride this month, when the fifth X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-5) lifts off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The US Air Force's not-so-secret secret spaceplane X-37B set a new orbital endurance record for a reusable unmanned spacecraft as it set down today at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after spending 718 days in orbit.

When the unmanned X-37B mission lifts off from Cape Canaveral AFB on May 20, it will be carrying a Hall thruster as part of an experiment to improve the design for use on Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications spacecraft.

A secret mission came to a public end as the US Air Force’s top secret X-37B spaceplane landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The unmanned reusable spacecraft touched down on the runway like a conventional aircraft this morning at 9:24 am EDT after a record-breaking 674 days in orbit.