X-37B spaceplane launches for eighth experimental mission

The Space Force launched its X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle late last night for its eighth mission, sending the spaceplane to run a slate of experiments on next-generation technologies.

The Boeing-made spaceplane will run tests on laser communications and “the highest-performing quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space,” according to a Space Force news release posted ahead of the launch.

The X-37B launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, FL at 11:50 p.m., the service stated. Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman in a post on X said the “unmanned spaceplane successfully reached its intended orbit.”

The technology being tested, Saltzman said in a separate post, could be used to provide “more efficient and secure satellite communications” and improve navigation in contested environments with positioning, navigation and timing capabilities through the quantum inertial censor.

“The mission is about more than innovation,” he wrote. “It’s about making our Joint Force more connected, more resilient and ready to operate in the face of any challenge. That’s how America’s Space Force secures our Nation’s interests in, from and to space.”

The launch comes less than six months after the X-37B completed its seventh mission. During that mission -- which ended March 7 with the vehicle’s landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA -- the spaceplane tested a first-of-its-kind aerobraking maneuver to change orbits while saving propellant, according to a Boeing news release.

"Having a returnable space platform allows us to learn faster," said Col. Brian Chatman, installation commander for Space Launch Delta 45. "The data we gather from the X-37B speeds decisions, hardens our architectures and helps Guardians stay connected and on course even in contested environments. This is how we move from promising ideas to fieldable capability at pace."