2023-12-29 09:33:35
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket took off Thursday evening to transport the American military space drone X-37B to a research mission, announced the American company founded by Elon Musk.
After weeks of delays, the rocket left at 8:07 p.m. (02:07 a.m. Belgian time) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The liftoff was broadcast live on the SpaceX website. No information was available on the destination of the space drone, an unmanned shuttle, for its seventh mission.
The Pentagon has released little information regarding the space drone and its new mission, initially scheduled to begin on December 7. SpaceX simply cites the code name given by the Pentagon to the mission – USSF-52 – in its press release on the launch.
The Pentagon previously announced that the seventh X-37B mission would feature “multiple cutting-edge experiences“. “These tests include the operation of the reusable space plane in new orbital regimes, the experimentation of future technologies on knowledge of the space domain and the study of the effects of radiation on materials provided by NASA“, according to a statement released last month by the U.S. Department of the Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office.
The press release specified that this was the first time that the X-37B was launched by a Falcon Heavy rocket, one of the most powerful in operation and capable of carrying loads of up to 26,700 kg far into space.
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