CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — After a successful liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, an unmanned military mini-shuttle is now working on its mostly classified fourth mission.
It's the fourth flight for the military research program, which is shrouded in secrecy.
Raw: Atlas V rocket launch carrying mini-shuttle
The last X-37B mission lasted close to 675 days and ended with a California touchdown.
The Air Force won't say how long this particular mission will last or where it will end.
An Atlas V rocket launched the 10 tiny satellites or cubesats, and the X-37B orbital test vehicle.
The flight is being used as a technology testing platform. One of the cubesats contains the planetary society's LightSail, which aims to show that the sun's energy can be used to power a spacecraft.
The X-37B looks like a miniature version of a NASA space shuttle. Like the old shuttle, the X-37B launches vertically and lands horizontally, is reusable and has a lot of room for experiments. They are operated robotically.
"The idea is to deploy the sails and show that this technology will work," said Bill Nye, CEO of the Planetary Society. "What we will do is lower the cost of going places like (the) moon, to Mars or asteroids."
The spacecraft was privately funded.
NASA is conducting its own experiment to see what types of materials may be of best use on future spacecraft.
WFTV
