How to watch SpaceX’s Space Force spacecraft launch for the first time

For the first time, SpaceX Falcon Heavy will attempt to carry the Pentagon’s spaceplane into low Earth orbit. This represents the seventh mission of the mysterious spacecraft, with the aim of expanding the Space Force’s knowledge of the space environment and testing new technologies.

Falcon Heavy is Programmed ET on Sunday, December 10, from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Both side boosters will attempt a vertical landing shortly after launch (the Falcon Heavy is three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together). The event will be broadcast live SpaceX account at Xformerly known as Twitter.

This will be a first for SpaceX: the spaceplane will and will launch with a Falcon Heavy rocket It won the Air Force contract in 2018 Through a competitive bidding process and won from United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy. This mission was supposed to launch years ago, but was postponed due to issues with payload and launch window availability.

The USSF-52 mission will deliver the X-37B spaceplane project Evolved Of the former, it is capable of re-entering the atmosphere and landing on conventional runways.

The Space Force said in a report that the mission “will expand the US Space Force’s knowledge of the space environment by experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies.” statement. “These tests are essential to ensure safe, stable and secure operations in space for all field users.”

On its seventh mission, the X-37B will operate in a new orbital alignment and carry out a NASA experiment called Seeds-2. This experiment will expose plant seeds to a harsh radiation environment during long-duration space missions, collecting vital data for future manned missions.

In the spaceplane’s previous mission, launched aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket in May 2020, the spaceplane spent a record 908 days in orbit. before drop At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in November 2022. This mission included a service module that expanded the spacecraft’s capabilities and hosted more experiments than any previous mission. These experiments included an electro-optical radio frequency antenna unit conducted by the Naval Research Laboratory and two NASA experiments that studied the effects of space conditions on various materials.

This upcoming mission marks SpaceX’s 92nd mission by 2023, moving closer to CEO Elon Musk’s ambitious goal of 100 launches within the year. With several weeks remaining, the company appears to be on track to reach this important milestone.

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