SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launches military spaceplane after delays
A Falcon Heavy rocket carried a U.S. Air Force and Space Force X-37B spaceplane from Kennedy Space Center on Thursday.
SpaceX launches a Falcon Heavy rocket from Florida's Space Coast
SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center for a national security mission on December 28, 2023.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – SpaceX launched a U.S. military spaceplane from Florida on Thursday night, marking one of the final events of the year.
The Falcon Heavy rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center just after 8 p.m.
Hours after the Falcon Heavy launch, SpaceX also launched Starlink internet satellites from Space Launch Complex 40.
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Previous launch attempts this month to send the X-37B spaceplane into orbit from SpaceX's launchpad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station were thwarted by weather and technical delays.
This will be the first time the Boeing-built spaceplane flies with SpaceX.
FILE PHOTO: Boeing's X-37B was built for the U.S. Air Force. (Image: Boeing)
X-37B has set new records for time in orbit with each flight. Since its first launch in 2010, X-37B has spent 3,774 days in space through six missions. Its last mission ended in November 2022 after more than 900 days in orbit on a mission for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.
The spaceplane is an orbital platform for different test and experimentation missions, some of which are classified. This seventh mission, known as OTV-7 and designated USSF-52, will fly unclassified and classified experiments.
A NASA experiment called Seeds-2 will expose plant seeds to radiation during a long-duration spaceflight. A previous version of the experiment flew on X-37B's last mission.
It is confidential when the spaceplane returns to Earth.
SpaceX launch on December 28
(SpaceX / FOX Weather)
SOUTH FACES FREEZING TEMPERATURES, CHANCE OF SNOW AS 2024 APPROACHES
A frontal boundary moving southward has dropped temperatures across Florida, providing chilly viewing conditions.
Forecasters with the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicted an 80% chance of favorable launch weather on Thursday night.
FILE PHOTO: On Feb. 6, 2018, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy rocket on a test flight from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After the launch, the three Falcon boosters came back for landing. (Image: SpaceX)
The launch marked the fifth Falcon Heavy launch in 2023. The powerful rocket produces more than 5 million pounds of thrust with three Falcon boosters and 27 Merlin engines.
SpaceX said this will be the fifth launch and landing of the Falcon Heavy side boosters. About 8 minutes after launch, the boosters landed for a sixth time back at Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. These landings can create sonic booms that reverberate across Florida's Space Coast and beyond.
The final launch of 2023 will also be for SpaceX’s Starlink service but on the West Coast. SpaceX is targeting Saturday night to launch more Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.