The United States has launched a robotic spaceplane into space. The robotic spaceplane was launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, December 28, local time.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, the X-37B robotic spaceplane is originally a secret mission of the US military. Earlier, they have launched spaceplanes at least six times. The launch on Thursday was the seventh spaceplane of its kind.
This is the first time that the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket has been used to launch a spaceplane. The Falcon Heavy rocket consists of three liquid-fueled rocket cores. The rocket is expected to be able to propel the spaceplane into orbit at higher speeds than ever before.
Two weeks ago, China launched its own robotic spaceplane into space. China’s robotic spaceplane is known as the Shenlong or Divine Dragon. After China, the United States also sent their spaceplanes. This added a new dimension to the growing rivalry between the two countries in space.
The X-37B is the US military’s third mission into space since 2020. The Pentagon has released little information about the mission.
The first US mission was in 2010. Several more missions were then conducted in 2020. Flights were limited to low-Earth orbit at altitudes below 2,000 km (1,200 mi).
