The secret X-37B space plane was launched on a SPACEX rocket shortly before Hurricane Irma hit Florida

After successfully putting the US Air Force's secret shuttle into orbit, SpaceX engineers completed the second half of the double space mission, with the first stage of the Falcon 9 launcher successfully making a manned landing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS).

Between the craziness of Florida's preparations for Category 5 Hurricane Irma and the weather forecast looking rather bleak, SpaceX company personnel managed to launch the secret X-7B military spacecraft on a Falcon 37 launcher yesterday (September 9).

The SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying the secret plane took off at 39 a.m. local time after launch 10A at the Kennedy Space Center, after the classified launch time was only kept until XNUMX minutes before takeoff. Surprisingly the weather conditions were perfect and the sky was blue.

After successfully putting the US Air Force's secret shuttle into orbit, SpaceX engineers completed the second half of the double space mission, with the first stage of the Falcon 9 launcher successfully making a manned landing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS).

The speed of the launcher created a large number of explosions and supersonic booms when the first stage
The rapid speed of the boosters created numerous shocking sonic booms as the 156-meter-tall first stage approached SpaceX-1's dedicated landing zone (LZ-1) at CCAFS, echoing for tens of kilometers beyond the Space Coast area.

X-37B is actually a reusable mini space shuttle. This is the fifth launch of a space plane of this model as part of the technology experiment. The weight of the space vehicle is about 5 tons, the size of the space plane is about a quarter of the size of NASA's grounded space shuttles, it is about nine meters long and its wingspan is 4.5 meters.

The X-37B was originally developed by NASA, but was transferred to the advanced research agency DARPA in 2004. Since then, most, but not all, of the aircraft's purposes have been shrouded in secrecy.

X-37B launch on September 7, 2017 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. A video by SpaceX

See more on the subject on the science website:

• The secret United States space plane has landed after 718 days in space
• The US Air Force's mysterious space plane has broken its previous record for staying in space
• The US military space plane X-37B took off for the fourth mysterious mission. It was also accompanied by an experimental solar sail during the launch
• The mysterious X-37B military space plane has landed after two years in orbit
• The unmanned X-37B spacecraft returned from space after 220 days

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