The U.S. Space Force has announced the launch date for its not-so-mysterious "secret" space plane. X-37B Mission 7 will lift off for the first time on December 7 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In what is known to be a top-secret affair, the X-37B is as famous as RAF Fillingdales radar station in North Yorkshire - which remained unknown during the Cold War despite being visible from the road on the moors.
The X-37B has a similar reputation. It is officially kept under wraps, but the mission itself is so well known that the Space Force issued a press release about its upcoming launch, called "Mission 7," or "OTV-7," and revealed some of the cargo it will carry.
The Space Force said the new mission, of undisclosed duration, will enter Earth orbit to conduct experiments involving future space domain sensing technologies and the long-term effects of space radiation. These include a NASA experiment called Seed-2, which will expose plant seeds to hard radiation for long periods of time.
Mission 7 will also build on the success of Mission 6, which introduced a service module to expand mission capabilities and allow for a larger experimental payload.
"We are excited to expand the capabilities of the reusable X-37B to fly multiple cutting-edge experiments for the Department of the Air Force and its partners using the flight-proven service module and Falcon Heavy rocket," said Lt. Col. Joseph Fritschen, X-37B program director.