X-37B Spaceplane to be Launched Into High Orbit Using Falcon Heavy
takyon writes:
X-37B Headed Deeper Into Space With Falcon Heavy Rocket's Help
The countdown is on for the next mission of the U.S. Space Force's secretive X-37B spaceplane. While all of the X-37B's missions so far have been highly intriguing, to say the least, the next one - the seventh - will involve some particular novelties. Not only will it explore what the Space Force describes as "new orbital regimes," but the reusable spaceplane will ride atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful commercial rocket operational anywhere in the world, with the potential to put it into much higher orbit than was possible on previous missions.
The Space Force announced yesterday that X-37B Mission 7 is scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on December 7, 2023. The spaceplane's first mission on a Falcon Heavy rocket will be designated USSF-52 and it will be run by the Space Force together with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
[...] Using the Falcon Heavy rocket comes after six previous missions that employed the medium-lift Atlas V or Falcon 9 rockets.
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