A US Air Force “spy” space shuttle that was scheduled to be launched by SpaceX as part of a secret mission was forced to shut down just minutes before its launch.
Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket was scheduled to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 8:14 p.m. ET.
But a “ground problem” led to the mission being aborted at the last second.
“Due to a ground-related issue, we are foregoing the launch of the Falcon Heavy this evening,” SpaceX said in a statement.
“Vehicle and payload remain healthy.” “The team is preparing for the next launch opportunity of the USSF-52 mission, which will not occur until tomorrow evening at the earliest.”
The X-37B is a military spacecraft that carries classified payloads into Earth orbit. The launch was scheduled to take place on Monday evening before a “problem on the ground” led to the mission being aborted
SpaceX confirmed that the plane's launch had been postponed until Tuesday evening at the earliest
This mission would have been the mysterious X-37B's seventh since its debut in 2010, and the majority of the spacecraft's payload is classified.
Initially, the mission was postponed by ten minutes because SpaceX was confident that it could still webcast the launch live.
“USSF-52's Falcon Heavy launch is now scheduled for this evening at 8:24 p.m. ET.” “The weather is 85% favorable and the webcast will go live approximately 15 minutes prior to launch,” it said in a statement .
But just ten minutes after the delay was announced, the rocket company announced that the mission would be canceled.
Some experts have speculated that the US Space Force spacecraft will be used to conduct spy missions, monitor Chinese space operations or test reconnaissance systems.
The X-37B can theoretically carry weapons into space, possibly to defend U.S. satellites against anti-satellite weapons.
China and Russia have accused the US government of using the plane as a bomber.
This unmanned aerial vehicle has been carrying out a number of secret missions for the military group since 2010, allowing the group to test new technologies in space.
The delay was the second in 24 hours after a launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, was also postponed on Sunday
The X-37B is a military spacecraft that carries classified payloads into Earth orbit. The last mission lasted 908 days.
Past missions have shown that the X-37B is a military workshop for new space technologies.
The X-37B can secretly make changes to its orbit, changing direction that is difficult to detect by observers.
Powered by solar panels with lithium-ion batteries, the plane circled at an altitude of about 200 miles.
In 2015, the US Air Force confirmed that the aircraft was being used to test a new electric propulsion system.
A statement from the US Space Force said the X-37B mission would include “a wide range of test and experiment objectives.”
“These tests include operating the reusable spaceplane in new orbital regimes, experimenting with future space domain sensing technologies, and studying the effects of radiation on materials provided by NASA.”
According to a statement from the Space Force to SpaceFlightNow, the launch of the Falcon Heavy marks a new era for the spacecraft, which was previously launched with a Falcon 9 or Atlas V, both of which have significantly smaller payload capacities.
“The deployment of a Falcon Heavy rocket will extend the X-37B's flight range, launch into a new orbital regime and enable unique experimentation opportunities for the X-37B,” the Space Force said.
Monday night's mission would have been the mysterious X-37B's seventh since its debut in 2010, and most of the spacecraft's payload is classified
The Falcon Heavy rocket can carry a much heavier payload into space than the Falcon 9 or Atlas V. This suggests that the X-37B will fly higher than on previous missions
Monday's delay followed an earlier setback on Sunday that delayed the launch by 24 hours.
No exact reason was given for the initial delay, but SpaceX had hoped Monday's mission would go ahead as planned in more favorable weather conditions.
“The Falcon Heavy launch of the USSF-52 mission is now Monday, December 11th. Weather conditions are expected to improve to 70% and be more favorable for Monday evening launch,” an update said.
“The team will use the time to conduct additional pre-launch checkouts.”
However, the details of the X-37B's orbit and activities are official and secret Documents seem to confirm that it should take a different path than before.
In addition to its secret payload, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle would have carried an experiment tracking the effects of space radiation on seeds.
The first mission in 2010 lasted 224 days, the second a year later lasted 468 days, and the mission that ended in 2019 lasted a total of 780 days.