WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Aug. 21 launched the U.S. Air Force X-37B spaceplane to low Earth orbit for its eighth mission.
The rocket lifted off at 11:50 p.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This marked the company’s 101st Falcon 9 flight of 2025.
Following booster separation, the first stage landed at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX ended the live webcast after the landing.
The Space Force four hours after liftoff confirmed the launch was successful.
The mission, designated USSF-36, launched the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-8), and marked the third Falcon launch of the spaceplane. SpaceX previously launched OTV-5 and OTV-7, the latter on a Falcon Heavy.
SpaceX was awarded a contract in March 2021 by the Space Force to launch OTV-8.
This flight continues the X-37B program’s pattern of long-duration and secretive missions. The payloads aboard OTV-8 include experiments from the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defense Innovation Unit: a laser communications demonstration and a quantum inertial sensor.
The X-37B is an autonomous reusable vehicle that resembles a miniature space shuttle. It was designed for autonomous flight and repeated use for extended experiments and technology demonstrations. The spacecraft has flown since 2010 for long missions that last years. Although it’s launched like a satellite, at the end of each mission it returns to Earth and lands on runways.
Manufactured by Boeing, the X-37B is operated jointly by the U.S. Space Force and the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
The X-37B’s most recent mission, OTV-7, concluded on March 7, 2025, when it landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, after spending 908 days in orbit.
The U.S. Space Force has not disclosed a planned duration for the OTV-8 mission. The X-37B typically stays in orbit for extended periods ranging from several months to over two years.