A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off late Thursday, carrying the U.S. military’s classified X-37B orbital test vehicle on its eighth mission. The rocket launched at 11:50 p.m. local time (0350 GMT Friday) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, lighting up the night sky, according to a SpaceX livestream.
The U.S. Space Force said the drone’s latest mission will involve “a wide range of test and experimentation objectives,” including trials of next-generation technologies such as laser communications and what it described as “the highest-performing quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space.”
“Mission 8 will contribute to improving the resilience, efficiency, and security of U.S. space-based communications architectures,” the Space Force said in a statement.
Roughly the size of a small bus, the X-37B resembles a scaled-down version of NASA’s retired space shuttle. First flown in 2010, it has previously conducted experiments for both the military and NASA.
The unmanned craft, built by Boeing for the Air Force and now operated by the Space Force, measures 30 feet (nine meters) in length with a 15-foot wingspan and is powered by deployable solar panels.
