The Boeing-built X-37B unmanned experimental orbital test vehicle launched on its seventh mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral to test and demonstrate technologies in space, Reuters reported Friday.
The U.S. Space Force oversaw the launch mission as part of the National Security Space Launch program to deploy payloads and conduct science and technology experiments.
Among the experiments launched onboard the mission is a NASA project to study how long-duration space exposure affects plant seeds to enable scientists to cultivate crops in space for future crewed lunar and space missions.
X-37B is a top-secret spaceplane the Space Force operates for long-duration orbital flights. The spacecraft has flown six missions since 2010, five of which were launched aboard Atlas V rockets from United Launch Alliance, a Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture.
The last X-37B mission was launched in May 2020 atop a Falcon 9 booster from SpaceX.
