The Space Force launched a secret mission space plane into orbit, dedicating the takeoff to front-line workers battling the coronavirus and victims.
The autonomous Boeing-made X-37B spacecraft took off at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, attached to an Atlas V rocket on Sunday. It’s the sixth time since 2010 that the aircraft has been sent to space. It’s not clear how long its current mission will last.
The Air Force, which has two of the planes, has been quiet about the capabilities of the aircraft and what it does in space beyond hosting scientific experiments. A video stream of the launch was eventually cut off because of security concerns.
“It’s a classified mission, and what is classified about it as the details of the vehicle itself, the mission it will do on orbit and where it will do that,” United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno said. “Therefore we have to stop the live broadcast so that we do not make it easy for adversaries to figure those things out by having that much data about the flight and deployment.”
The launch was dedicated to those combating the COVID-19 virus pandemic and those affected by it, according to a written dedication affixed to the rocket’s payload.
“We were honored to partner with the US Space Force to dedicate this mission to first responders, front-line workers, and those affected by Covid-19,” Gary Wentz, vice president of Government and Commercial Programs at ULA, said in a statement.
