The new X-37B space plane is the US military’s latest vehicle blasting off on a mission expected to last years. So what’s on the plane? They won’t say, and although that’s fairly normal, it’s worth noting no one’s on board either.
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Rocket has the new space plane on board and has already launched. It marked the seventh flight of an X-37B, which logged more than 10 years in orbit since its 2010 debut, according to the Associated Press.
Not only would no one say what’s on board, no one is saying just how long the space plane will be tested on this mission in space, but one widely accepted goal is for NASA to gauge the effects of radiation on materials.
