Current:Home > BackUS military space plane blasts off on another secretive mission expected to last years-LoTradeCoin
US military space plane blasts off on another secretive mission expected to last years
View Date:2024-12-23 20:42:45
The U.S. military’s X-37B space plane blasted off Thursday on another secretive mission that’s expected to last at least a couple of years.
Like previous missions, the reusable plane resembling a mini space shuttle carried classified experiments. There’s no one on board.
The space plane took off aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at night, more than two weeks late because of technical issues.
It marked the seventh flight of an X-37B, which has logged more than 10 years in orbit since its debut in 2010.
The last flight, the longest one yet, lasted 2 1/2 years before ending on a runway at Kennedy a year ago.
Space Force officials would not say how long this orbital test vehicle would remain aloft or what’s on board other than a NASA experiment to gauge the effects of radiation on materials.
Built by Boeing, the X-37B resembles NASA’s retired space shuttles. But they’re just one-fourth the size at 29 feet (9 meters) long. No astronauts are needed; the X-37B has an autonomous landing system.
They take off vertically like rockets but land horizontally like planes, and are designed to orbit between 150 miles and 500 miles (240 kilometers and 800 kilometers) high. There are two X-37Bs based in a former shuttle hangar at Kennedy.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
veryGood! (1894)
Related
- Jordan Chiles Reveals She Still Has Bronze Medal in Emotional Update After 2024 Olympics Controversy
- Colorado man who shot Waffle House cook in 2020 will serve a sentence of up to 13 years
- Inside the Endlessly Bizarre Aftermath of Brittany Murphy's Sudden Death
- Sasha Skochilenko, Russian artist who protested war in Ukraine, faces possible 8-year prison sentence
- Residents urged to shelter in place after apparent explosion at Louisville business
- Iconic 1990s Philadelphia Eagles jacket like one worn by Princess Diana going on sale
- Keke Palmer Files for Custody of Her and Darius Jackson's Baby Boy
- Belmont University freshman Jillian Ludwig dies after being shot by stray bullet in Nashville park
- Georgia remains part of College Football Playoff bracket projection despite loss
- Jury finds man not guilty of assaulting woman at U.S. research station in Antarctica
Ranking
- Jennifer Garner Details Navigating Grief 7 Months After Death of Her Dad William Garner
- The Air Force’s new nuclear stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, has taken its first test flight
- Tuohy family paid Michael Oher $138,000 from proceeds of 'The Blind Side' movie, filing shows
- Police investigate vandalism at US Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s Texas office over Israel-Hamas war
- Indiana man is found guilty of murder in the 2017 killings of 2 teenage girls
- Flush with new funding, the IRS zeroes in on the taxes of uber-wealthy Americans
- Jury awards $1.2 million to Robert De Niro’s former assistant in gender discrimination lawsuit
- The IRS just announced new tax brackets. Here's how to see yours.
Recommendation
-
Stop smartphone distractions by creating a focus mode: Video tutorial
-
Ole Miss, Kiffin seek dismissal of lawsuit filed by Rebels football player
-
Trailblazing computer scientist Fei-Fei Li on human-centered AI
-
2023 Veterans Day deals: Free meals and discounts at more than 70 restaurants, businesses
-
Deebo Samuel explains 'out of character' sideline altercation with 49ers long snapper, kicker
-
Conservative Muslims protest Coldplay’s planned concert in Indonesia over the band’s LGBTQ+ support
-
West Virginia agrees to pay $4M in lawsuit over jail conditions
-
How a history of trauma is affecting the children of Gaza