ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) — The U.S. Space Force, in partnership with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and SpaceX, is making final preparations to launch the eighth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-8) on August 21 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
The eighth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, designated USSF-36, with a wide range of test and experimentation objectives. These will include demonstrations of high-bandwidth inter-satellite laser communications technologies and enhanced space navigation using the highest performing quantum inertial sensor in space.
“OTV-8 exemplifies the X-37B’s status as the U.S. Space Force’s premier test platform for the critical space technologies of tomorrow. Through its mission-focused innovation, the X-37B continues to redefine the art of the possible in the final frontier of space,” said AFRCO Acting Director William Blauser.
The X-37B program, which first launched in April 2010, has accrued 4,208 days in operation. Previous X-37B missions have successfully demonstrated the X-37B spacecraft’s ability to alter its orbital trajectory using a novel aerobraking maneuver, experimented with space domain awareness technologies, successfully tested Naval Research Laboratory technology designed to harness solar energy and transmit power to the ground, and subjected seeds to the radiation environment of space for the purpose of better understanding how to sustain humans on long-term crewed missions to the moon and beyond.
The X-37B is a dynamic and responsive spacecraft responsible for conducting a range of tests and experiments that expedite the development of critical next-generation technologies and operational concepts for reusable space capabilities.
By Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs