SpaceX launch Falcon Heavy rocket, X-37B military spaceplane
Onboard the three-core rocket was the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV). This was the seventh launch.
The Falcon Heavy rocket for this mission rolled back out to the pad at Launch Complex 39A . All other previous mission were launched using United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 501 rocket from neighboring pad 41. About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the two Falcon Heavy side boosters, tail numbers B1064 and B1065, returned to Landing Zone 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. These boosters made their fifth flight to date after launching the USSF-44, USSF-67, Jupiter-3 and Psyche missions previously. They will be launched one more time in October 2024 to launch NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft to the Jovian moon of the same name. While the payloads on board the spaceplane are mostly undisclosed, the mission is another opportunity for NASA to learn about the impacts of long-duration spaceflight for humans.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Heavy Rocket Ready to Launch X - 37B after previously giving it a ride in 2017
