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Reusable Rocket Takes US Air Force’s Mysterious X-37B Space Shuttle Into Orbit

© SpaceXFalcon takes secretive shuttle to space
Falcon takes secretive shuttle to space - Sputnik International
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Hurricane Irma may be closing in on Florida by the hour, but that didn’t stop the US Air Force and SpaceX from sending a mysterious shuttle into space on Thursday afternoon.

Hurricane Irma may be closing in on Florida by the hour, but that didn’t stop the US Air Force and SpaceX from sending a mysterious shuttle into space on Thursday afternoon.

An unmanned Falcon rocket took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County, Florida, on Thursday afternoon to bring the X-37B shuttle into orbit. US officials have never publicly specified what business the X-37B is engaged in while it’s circling the Earth but it has been logging missions since 2010.

The September 7 launch was SpaceX’s first run at sending the X-37B to Earth’s perimeter. 

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Previously, Lockheed Martin’s Atlas rockets brought the Boeing vehicle into space.

The USAF operates just two of the “orbital test vehicles,” OTV-1 and OTV-2. The two manless vehicles have spent a combined 5.5 years orbiting in space.

“Boeing’s commitment to space-based unmanned vehicle technology spans a decade and includes support to the Air Force Research Lab’s X-40 program, NASA’s X-37 program, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s X-37 Approach, Landing and Test Vehicle program,” a 2012 Boeing announcement reads.

SpaceX showed the first few minutes of the secretive space shuttle’s liftoff before cutting the feed in accordance with USAF requests.

 

 

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