New secret mission for the US military's mini-space shuttle

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched the U.S. military's X-37B space drone from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Thursday. The U.S. military's mission, shrouded in mystery and largely classified as "top secret," is shrouded in mystery.

"This is the eighth flight" of this "reusable" mini-space shuttle , "9 meters long and 4.5 meters in wingspan," developed by Boeing and launched for the first time into space in 2010, specifies Newsweek . While it must be launched by a rocket, this unmanned shuttle can, however, return to Earth and land under its own power.

The US Space Force – the space branch of the US military – has been tight-lipped about the experiments conducted by its drone, saying only that the mission would “test laser communications and secure navigation without GPS,” ABCNews reports.

The duration of the mission is also unknown. The American network notes that “the last X-37B circled the world for a little over a year before returning to Earth in March” and that “previous missions lasted months, even years” .

"This flight underscores growing U.S. efforts to develop resilient space capabilities that can support military and national security applications beyond conventional satellite systems," Newsweek analyzes.

"It comes as militaries around the world are increasing their investments in space-based communications and navigation technologies," the magazine said.

For the Wall Street Journal , “the X-37B’s frequent voyages” reflect above all “the US military’s desire to dominate space.” And while “the future use of the X-37B by the US Space Force remains unclear,” one thing is certain: the US government has great ambitions for the program.

Congress has in fact allocated “1 billion dollars” to the mini-shuttle “as part of President Donald Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, signed into law in July,” the business daily specifies.