A U.S. military space plane, known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, blasted off on Thursday night aboard a Falcon 9 launch provided by SpaceX, carrying out a classified mission in orbit. Mission Overview The lift-off from Cape Canaveral,

The company has launched two prior X-37B missions for the Space Force. OTV-5 launched Sept. 17, 2017, on a Falcon 9, while OTV-7 launched Dec. 29, 2023, on a Falcon Heavy rocket—the program’s first and, so far, sole launch on the super heavy-lift launch vehicle. For both missions, the booster launched from the Cape and returned to the landing zone.