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# X-37B Departs Atop Falcon 9 for Secret Mission
- URL: https://proximareport.com/x-37b-ussf-36-launch/
- Published: 2025-08-22T07:01:41.000Z
- Updated: 2025-08-22T07:05:38.000Z
- Author: Jack C.
- Tags: United States, SpaceX, Launches, Aerospace

The U.S. Space Force's secretive X-37B spaceplane is back in Earth orbit for a classified mission and technology demonstrations.

Out of Launch Complex 39A in Florida at 03:50 am Universal Coordinated Time, a Falcon 9 began its journey into Earth orbit for the U.S. Space Force's USSF-36 mission. First-stage ascent was nominal, with the second-stage starting up cleanly along with separation of the two fairing halves, but not long after, live feeds of ascent were cut at the request of the Space Force.

> Falcon 9 has landed at LZ-2 [pic.twitter.com/QbGfFhyX9J](https://t.co/QbGfFhyX9J?ref=proximareport.com)
> 
> — SpaceX (@SpaceX) [August 22, 2025](https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1958741040254353486?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=proximareport.com)

Booster B1092 touching down at Landing Zone 2, via [SpaceX on Twitter](https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1958741040254353486?ref=proximareport.com).

Supporting USSF-36's trek to orbit was booster B1092 for [its sixth flight](https://www.spacex.com/launches/ussf36?ref=proximareport.com), landing back at Landing Zone 2 in Cape Canaveral afterwards. This booster has previously supported the launches for NROL-69, CRS-32, GPS III-7, and two Starlink missions. Additionally, this was the [third time SpaceX has supported](https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1958734455021162624?ref=proximareport.com) X-37B missions.

Riding Falcon 9 into orbit was X-37B Vehicle 1, [made by Boeing](https://www.boeing.com/defense/autonomous-systems/x37b?ref=proximareport.com#the-numbers), which also produced its twin. The spaceplane is around one-fourth the scale of the Space Shuttle and, unlike the Space Shuttle, launches inside a conventional rocket's fairing. But, Much like the Space Shuttle, the majority of the craft's stowage space is contained within a horizontally-laid payload bay, with hinged doors allowing for exposure to the vacuum of space and deployment of free-flying payloads.

Owing to its military nature, much of what takes place from the time X-37B lifts off the ground on its launch vehicle to the moment it touches down on the runway at the end of its mission is extremely unclear.

![X-37B Vehicle 1 on the runway at Kennedy Space Center on the 12th of November 2022 after the OTV-6 mission. ©United States Space Force](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c1/15/c115fdad-529f-4ea1-9d82-260375a868a5/content/images/2025/08/3240px-X-37B_concludes_sixth_mission_-221111-F-XX000-0002--1.jpg)

X-37B Vehicle 1 on the runway at Kennedy Space Center on the 12th of November 2022 after the OTV-6 mission. ©United States Space Force

The X-37B's eighth mission is set to complete various objectives for the U.S. military, including technology demonstrations. Two technology tests are [known to be onboard](https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4256759/us-space-force-scheduled-to-launch-eighth-x-37b-mission/?ref=proximareport.com) and are a laser communications demonstration and a quantum inertial sensor planned to measure the spaceplane's acceleration and rotation.

Testing of laser communications during the mission is set to improve the resilience, security, and efficiency of American space-based communications through low Earth orbit satellite networks (i.e., Starlink and Starshield). Laser communications are also being pushed by the U.S. Space Force as key to next-generation military communications.

Meanwhile, tests of the quantum inertial sensor could broadly benefit space navigation, providing accurate positioning in cislunar space and beyond. The test demonstration onboard the X-37B itself will measure the accuracy of unaided navigation in orbit. Commander of the Colorado-based Space Delta 9, Colonel Ramsey Horn, spoke on the military significance of the quantum sensor demonstration, stating:

> "\[The mission\]'s quantum inertial sensor demonstration is a welcome step forward for operational resilience in space. Whether navigating beyond Earth based orbits in cislunar space or operating in GPS-denied environments, quantum inertial sensing allows for robust navigation capabilities when GPS navigation is not possible."

It is unknown when the X-37B will return to Earth to end its mission, usually spending multiple months in orbit. When it does, the spaceplane will land on a runway at either the Kennedy Space Center or Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Since 2010, the two X-37B spaceplanes have performed missions in orbit seven times, largely speculated to be reconnaissance missions in low Earth orbit. In its previous mission, [launched atop a Falcon Heavy](https://proximareport.com/articles/falcon-heavy-ussf-52), the spaceplane flew around high Earth orbit for the first time, [performing aerobrake maneuvers](https://aviationweek.com/space/budget-policy-regulation/how-x-37b-shaping-future-us-space-force?ref=proximareport.com) before its return as well.

![A camera onboard the X-37B takes a photo of Earth from its high-point in orbit during its seventh mission. ©United States Space Force](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c1/15/c115fdad-529f-4ea1-9d82-260375a868a5/content/images/2025/08/X37BSPACE-2_US_Space_Force.jpg)

A camera onboard the X-37B takes a photo of Earth from its high-point in orbit during its seventh mission. ©United States Space Force