USAF Taps Into Elon Musk’s SpaceX to Launch the X-37B into Space

s company, SpaceX, has accomplished a lot in its short time of existence. Most recently, SpaceX proved to the world that rockets could be reused when it launched the into orbit a few months ago with a used Falcon 9 rocket, which it also landed at the end of the mission. SpaceX has obviously been generating a lot of hype with the push to make space travel more plausible and affordable, and its next major mission comes this August when it is set to launch the USAF’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) into space. Confirmation of this mission came straight from AF Secretary, Heather Wilson, during a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee meeting.

This is the fifth time an X-37B has been launched into space, with the first four launches being handled by United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets. Over the last seven years, the X-37B has seen a total of 2,085 days in orbit, with its very first flight taking place back in April of 2010. But, that’s where the secrecy comes in as there’s no word as to what these unmanned orbiters have been doing in low-earth orbit. In the most recent landing back in May of 2017, the Air Force released a statement that claims the X-37B program “performs risk reduction, experimentation, and of-operations development for reusable space-vehicle technologies.” Keep reading to learn a little more about the X-37B and its upcoming mission.

USAF Taps Into Elon Musk’s SpaceX to Launch the X-37B into Space

s company, SpaceX, has accomplished a lot in its short time of existence. Most recently, SpaceX proved to the world that rockets could be reused when it launched the into orbit a few months ago with a used Falcon 9 rocket, which it also landed at the end of the mission. SpaceX has obviously been generating a lot of hype with the push to make space travel more plausible and affordable, and its next major mission comes this August when it is set to launch the USAF’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) into space. Confirmation of this mission came straight from AF Secretary, Heather Wilson, during a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee meeting.

This is the fifth time an X-37B has been launched into space, with the first four launches being handled by United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets. Over the last seven years, the X-37B has seen a total of 2,085 days in orbit, with its very first flight taking place back in April of 2010. But, that’s where the secrecy comes in as there’s no word as to what these unmanned orbiters have been doing in low-earth orbit. In the most recent landing back in May of 2017, the Air Force released a statement that claims the X-37B program “performs risk reduction, experimentation, and of-operations development for reusable space-vehicle technologies.” Keep reading to learn a little more about the X-37B and its upcoming mission.