Top-secret US space plane successfully launched with help from SpaceX

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This is the seventh mission of the X-37B, which is part of a special US national security program. The North American government released few details about the ship. Top-secret US spacecraft is launched by a SpaceX rocket, on December 28, 2023 REUTERS/Joe Skipper The top-secret United States space plane, X-37B, was successfully launched into space on Thursday night (28). The spacecraft was launched from the top of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in Florida. The X-37B is part of a special United States national security program. The Pentagon has released few details about the spacecraft. For this reason, the plane is considered top secret. The launch took place after more than two weeks of delays. Three previous countdowns were aborted due to bad weather and unspecified technical problems. This is the spacecraft’s seventh mission, which will be able to orbit at a higher point than in previous missions — 35,000 km above Earth. However, the US government did not provide information about what altitude the plane will be at. In a statement, the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office limited itself to stating that the new mission would involve testing “new orbital regimes, experimenting with future space domain recognition technologies.” Analysts have even stated that the spacecraft will be able to explore regions of space in the vicinity of the Moon. On the other hand, the closer the X-37B gets to the Moon, the more difficult it will be to return safely to Earth. The spacecraft is also carrying out a NASA experiment to study how plant seeds are affected by prolonged exposure to the harsh radiation environment in space. The ability to maintain crops in space has important implications for keeping astronauts nourished during future long-term missions, such as to the Moon or Mars. The first X-37B mission was carried out in 2010. Since then, there have been more than 3,700 days in space. The operation this time is expected to last until 2026. The X-37B duration. The Boeing-built vehicle is approximately the size of a small bus. The design resembles a space shuttle. At the end of the mission, the craft descends back through the atmosphere to land on an airplane-like runway. VIDEOS: most watched on g1

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