X-37B to Take Flight Sunday Morning

RandomFactor writes:

The United Launch Alliance and the U.S. Space Force are targeting Sunday morning for launching the secretive reusable X-37B spaceplane back into orbit for a sixth mission.

Watch live here (launch is scheduled for 9:14am Eastern time)

The launch was originally planned for 8:24 AM EDT Saturday May 16th but was scrubbed due to weather.

To date the space plane has spent a total of 2,865 days in orbit, with the longest mission running for 780 days and ending in October 27th, 2019. The details of the current mission are, as with previous missions, mostly undisclosed, however this mission has a notable difference:

This mission will have even more experiments than usual, thanks to the addition of a new service module - a cylindrical structure attached to the bottom of the spaceplane that will be packed with technology to be tested on orbit. "This will be the first X-37B mission to use a service module to host experiments," Randy Walden, director and program executive officer for the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, said in a statement. "The incorporation of a service module on this mission enables us to continue to expand the capabilities of the spacecraft and host more experiments than any of the previous missions."

Information on a few of the experiments has been made public:

Tagging along with the X-37B is a small satellite called FalconSat-8 developed by the US Air Force Academy that carries five experimental payloads. The spaceplane will supposedly deploy the FalconSat-8 when it reaches orbit. NASA is also sending two experiments up on this flight to study how space radiation degrades certain materials as well as seeds needed for food. And the US Naval Research Laboratory has included an experiment that will "transform solar power into radio frequency microwave energy" that can then be sent to the ground for use.

A tribute to COVID-19 victims, first responders, and front-line workers has been added to the side of the Atlas V rocket that will be used for the launch.

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