Overview

• SpaceX has set a new launch date for the US military's X-37B space plane on December 28, after the original plan was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions.
• The X-37B, which resembles a miniature space shuttle, is built to deploy various payloads and conduct technology experiments in long-duration orbital flights.
• This will be the seventh mission for the X-37B, with its last flight lasting over two years before landing in November 2022.
• The Pentagon has not disclosed the intended altitude for the space plane, but the mission will involve tests of new orbital regimes and future space domain awareness technologies.
• The X-37B flight will mark the third time it is used by the US government to carry a national security payload into orbit.