In the dark of night, SpaceX will launch the mysterious X-37B space plane for the U.S. Space Force (USSF).
A Falcon 9 rocket will launch the mission, USSF-36, from Pad 39A, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida, carrying the Boeing-built X-37B on the orbital transfer vehicle’s eighth flight (OTV-8). Launch is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 21, at 11:50 p.m. EDT (0350 GMT, Aug. 22).
SpaceX will broadcast the launch beginning at about 11:30 p.m. EDT (0330 GMT, Aug. 22), with streams available on the USSF-36 mission website and SpaceX’s profile on X.
It is the sixth flight for the Falcon 9 booster supporting the USSF-36 launch, B1092, which previously launched NROL-69, CRS-32, GPS III-7, and Starlink groups 12-13 and 10-34. The booster is expected to return to the Space Coast for recovery at SpaceX’s Landing Zone-2, located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, a few miles downrange from the launchpad.
OTV-8 will focus X-37B’s mission on two primary technology demonstrations: a laser communications system and a quantum inertial sensor to test a new type of in-space positioning system, like GPS, according to a July 28 statement Space Force statement.
These technologies represent major advancements in their respective fields. Laser communications capable of supporting heavier data loads and tougher security safeguards, compared to traditional radio.
And, instead of traditional GPS, X-37B’s quantum sensor will measure the inertia of nearby atoms to help inform the space plane’s navigational position on orbit, without reliance on existing satellite infrastructure.