Technobarbarian wrote:

"Facing a stormy weather forecast, SpaceX is pushing back its Falcon Heavy rocket launch by 24 hours to send the mysterious Space Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle on its next secret mission.

SpaceX is now targeting 8:14 p.m. EST Monday to launch a triple-core Falcon Heavy from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on the USSF-52 national security mission."

"The U.S. Space Force typically does not disclose the classified aspects of X-37B missions. As such, little is known about the types of activities the robotic vehicle carries out in orbit.

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2023/12/10/spacex-falcon-heavy-x-37b-launch-from-nasas-ksc-moved-to-monday-night-at-cape-canaveral-florida/71870302007/

For this upcoming flight, dubbed OTV-7, the X-37B will conduct various tests, including “experimenting with space domain awareness technologies and investigating the radiation effects to NASA materials,” according to the Space Force.

On the X-37B’s last mission, which spanned 908 days in orbit, the space plane lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Before that, the vehicle rode to space five times on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rockets. The Falcon Heavy booster is

significantly more powerful than both, allowing the X-37B to operate in “new orbital regimes,” Space Force officials said in a statement."

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/secretive-x-37b-space-plane-headed-back-orbit-boost-spacex-rcna126147

TB

Make that Wednesday 8:13pm

--
Frank Howell

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)