Tests Continue For Space Force Plane

The long-running, secretive X-37B spaceplane project has a new mission on the books, according to the US Space Force.

On 21 August, the Boeing-developed X37 aircraft will take its eighth flight with a mission designation of Orbital Test Vehicle-8 (OTV-8). The mission is designed to test key navigation and communication technologies that could help US aircraft and aerospace vehicles operate as enemies deny GPS navigation and radio-based communication.

Boeing has worked on the X37 since 1999, though the spaceplane didn't fly for the first time until 2010. Designed as a long-term orbital craft, it is also entirely reusable and recoverable, able to land in much the same way as the Space Shuttle that inspired its design. It is the smallest and lightest orbital spaceplane yet flown, and it's already demonstrated the ability to remain in orbit for over 900 days, showcasing its resilience to spacebound dangers and long-term reliability.

The next launch is scheduled to take place within the next few weeks, though an exact date has not been confirmed. It will see the latest version of the spaceplane, the X-37B, launching atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket for the first time.

A big component of this launch is testing redundancies. As military conflicts have increasingly leveraged denial technologies like GPS and radio jamming, the X-37B will perform key tests on technologies that can still operate in these environments. One of them will be a GPS-free navigation system that uses a quantum inertial sensor. Operating like a traditional accelerator and gyroscope, the system will be far more accurate thanks to its ability to track the quantum properties of atoms.

This flight will also incorporate a secondary experiment aimed at testing laser-based communications. Fellow Expanse fans might think of this a little like "tightbeam" technology, in which a laser beam conveys information in a direct line to a receiver, rather than using more traditional wireless radio-based communications. It will leverage a network of inter-satellite laser communications systems, highlighting the Space Force's resilience to interrupted communications.

"OTV-8’s laser communications demonstration will mark an important step in the US Space Force’s ability to leverage commercial space networks as part of proliferated, diversified, and redundant space architectures," said General Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations (via SpaceNews).

This flight will also be part of continuing posturing between the United States and China, which has its own reusable spaceplane program. Known as the Shenlong, it has also demonstrated long orbital survival, runway landings, and a range of undisclosed payload transportation capabilities.