Another US military mini shuttle was launched on Thursday night to conduct classified experiments in space.
Launched by SpaceX, the space plane known as X-37B, took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with no one on board. The mission will test laser communications and safe navigation without GPS, according to the US Space Force.
The tests "will mark an important step in the US Space Force's ability to leverage proliferated space networks as part of a diversified and redundant space architecture," said General Chance Saltzman, director of space operations for the US Space Force.
It is the eighth such flight for the X-37B vehicles since its first launch in 2010.
The last mission of this space plane was launched in December 2023. It returned to Earth in March this year after remaining in space for 434 days.
The Boeing-made reusable planes, resembling mini space shuttles, were first launched in 2010 and are nine metres long with a wingspan of almost 4.5 metres.
