Elon Musk's private space venture, SpaceX, has successfully launched the US military's highly secretive X-37B spacecraft using its powerful Falcon Heavy rocket, marking a triumphant return to the skies for the rocket.
On Thursday evening, the Falcon Heavy rocket took off from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 8:07 p.m. ET, carrying the autonomous and uncrewed X-37B space plane to unprecedented altitudes. The entire launch was streamed live on SpaceX's website, showcasing the spectacular event. Impressively, the side boosters of the Falcon Heavy safely returned to Earth, achieving another milestone in SpaceX's pursuit of reusable rocket technology.
The destination of the space plane remains shrouded in mystery. The X-37B's enigmatic activities in space have captivated the space community, with enthusiasts racing to track its movements and share speculations about its mission, as reported by CNN.
Resembling a scaled-down NASA space shuttle with its windows blacked out, the X-37B is both reusable and fully autonomous. Previous missions have seen the spacecraft engage in groundbreaking research, including experiments on relaying solar energy from space for terrestrial use and studying the effects of radiation on seeds used in food cultivation.
This seventh mission for the X-37B holds the promise of even greater intrigue, building on the curiosity generated by its earlier flights. As SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of space exploration, the enigmatic nature of the X-37B's mission only adds to the anticipation and fascination surrounding this groundbreaking venture.
(With Agency Inputs)
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