The U.S. Air Force (USAF) will launch its unmanned X-37B spacecraft Wednesday for a fourth mission, the details of which are confidential.
According to Space.com, the USAF scheduled the launch for Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. ET at the Cape Canaveral base. The mission, known as Orbital Test Vehicle-4 (OTV-4), is classified, but the USAF said X-37B is not testing potential space weaponry.
A USAF official told Space.com the spacecraft, set to launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, is meant to test a number of space technologies.
"Space is so vitally important to everything we do," Maj. Gen. Tom Masiello, a commander at the Air Force Research Laboratory, said in a press release. "Secure comms, ISR, missile warning, weather prediction, precision navigation and timing all rely on it, and the domain is increasingly contested. A more efficient on-orbit thruster capability is huge. Less fuel burn lowers the cost to get up there, plus it enhances spacecraft operational flexibility, survivability and longevity."
While most of the mission details are not clear, NASA plans to find out how more than 100 different materials are affected in space, an initiative that will help with the construction of future spacecraft.
"AFRL is proud to be able to contribute to this research teamed with our partners at SMC, RCO, NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Aerojet-Rocketdyne," Greg Spanjers, the AFRL space capability lead and chief scientist of the space vehicles directorate, said in the release. "It was great to see our Gov't-Contractor team identify an opportunity and then quickly respond to implement a solution that will offer future Air Force spacecraft even greater capabilities."
