Daijiworld Media Network- Florida

Florida, Aug 22: A United States military mini-shuttle embarked on yet another classified mission late Thursday night, taking off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX rocket.

The unmanned space plane, known as X-37B, is on its eighth flight since its first launch in 2010. Built by Boeing, the reusable shuttle measures 9 metres in length with a wingspan of nearly 4.5 metres.

According to the US Space Force, this mission will focus on testing laser-based communications and safe navigation without GPS, though several other experiments remain undisclosed due to their classified nature.

It is unclear how long the mini-shuttle will stay in orbit. The last X-37B mission lasted over a year before safely returning to Earth in March this year. Previous flights have stretched from a few months to several years, making the craft a cornerstone of America’s secretive space research programme.