Falcon Heavy Launches X-37B Space Plane For Classified Mission

Less than 3 hr. after a pair of Falcon Heavy side boosters returned from the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-7 launch, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 with 23 Starlink satellites.

Credit: SpaceX
CAPE CANAVERAL—A Boeing-built X-37B spacecraft, owned by the U.S. Space Force, began the seventh mission in the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) program following launch to a new, undisclosed orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy on Dec. 28. The triple-core booster, which can carry as much as 141,000 lb...
Irene Klotz

Irene Klotz is Senior Space Editor for Aviation Week, based in Cape Canaveral. Before joining Aviation Week in 2017, Irene spent 25 years as a wire service reporter covering human and robotic spaceflight, commercial space, astronomy, science and technology for Reuters and United Press International.

Brian Everstine

Brian Everstine is the Pentagon Editor for Aviation Week, based in Washington, D.C. Before joining Aviation Week in August 2021, he covered the Pentagon for Air Force Magazine. Brian began covering defense aviation in 2011 as a reporter for Military Times.

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