SpaceX launches Air Force's super-secret minishuttle
SpaceX launched the Air Force's super-secret space shuttle on Thursday, a technology tester capable of spending years in orbit.
In this frame from video provided by SpaceX an unmanned Falcon rocket launches from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. It's the fifth flight for one of these crewless mini shuttles, known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. (SpaceX via AP)
The unmanned Falcon rocket blasted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, as schools and businesses boarded up for Hurricane Irma.
In this frame from video provided by SpaceX a leftover booster rocket lands at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. SpaceX launched the Air Force's super-secret space shuttle on Thursday, a technology tester capable of spending years in orbit. It's the fifth flight for one of these crewless mini shuttles, known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. (SpaceX via AP)
It's the fifth flight for one of these crewless minishuttles, known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle.
In this frame from video provided by SpaceX an unmanned Falcon rocket launches from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. It's the fifth flight for one of these crewless mini shuttles, known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. (SpaceX via AP)
The two Air Force space planes have already logged a combined 5 ½ years in orbit. But officials won't say what the spacecraft are doing up there. The last mission lasted almost two years and ended with a May touchdown at the runway formerly used by NASA's space shuttles. The first one launched in 2010.
This undated photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows an X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. An unmanned Falcon rocket that carried one of these experimental planes blasted off Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017, from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. (U.S. Air Force via AP)
As has become customary, SpaceX landed its leftover booster back at Cape Canaveral for eventual reuse.
SpaceX launches an unmanned Falcon rocket from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. It's the fifth flight for one of these crewless mini shuttles, known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)
This was the first time SpaceX has provided a lift for the experimental minishuttle. The previous missions relied on United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rockets. Air Force officials said they want to use a variety of rockets for the X-37B program, to launch quickly if warranted.
In this image provided by SpaceX a leftover booster rocket lands at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. SpaceX launched the Air Force's super-secret space shuttle on Thursday, a technology tester capable of spending years in orbit. It's the fifth flight for one of these crewless mini shuttles, known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. (SpaceX via AP)
The Boeing-built minishuttle is 29 feet long, with a 14-foot wingspan. By comparison, NASA's retired space shuttles were 122 feet long, with a 78-foot wingspan.
SpaceX stopped providing details about the X-37B's climb to orbit, a few minutes after liftoff at the Air Force's request. The booster's return to SpaceX's landing zone at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, however, was broadcast live.
A SpaceX unmanned Falcon rocket launches from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. It's the fifth flight for one of these crewless mini shuttles, known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. (Craig Bailey/Florida Today via AP) /Florida Today via AP)
"The Falcon has safely landed," a SpaceX launch controller announced. Cheers erupted at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
It was SpaceX's 16th successful return of a first-stage booster. Booster rockets are normally discarded at sea.
A SpaceX unmanned Falcon rocket launches from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. It's the fifth flight for one of these crewless mini shuttles, known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. (Craig Bailey/Florida Today via AP)