There’s a new game-changing spaceplane called the Boeing X-37B.
It’s a military spacecraft, and it’s theoretically capable of something that’s never been done before.
Chiefly thanks to its payload capacity.
The spacecraft is currently in its seventh mission, so we’ll find out soon enough whether the plane can make history or not.
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Why the new Boeing X-37B is so important
For the new mission, dubbed USSF-52, Boeing launched the X-37B atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The launch was completed in November 2023, but the spacecraft is only expected to land in 2027.
The main improvement compared to similar spacecraft is the X-37B’s increased payload capacity, which would potentially enable longer missions and more experiments in space.
Space Race ‘season 2’ is underway
The ‘Space Race’ is back in full swing, it seems, and now every major power is trying to get a piece of the pie.
Over the last 12 months alone, we’ve seen the CNSA (Nasa’s equivalent in China) share new footage of its lunar base, and India reach the south pole of the Moon, which is something no one had ever done before.
After that, the CNSA announced a program that’s essentially China’s answer to NASA’s Artemis program (in collaboration with SpaceX).
The ultimate goal is to build a permanent Moon base.
They called it the ILRS (International Lunar Research Station) and it was jointly announced by China and Russia in 2021.
Since then, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Venezuela have also joined the initiative.
During the first Space Race, in the 1960s, it was essentially a battle between the United States and the USSR.
Now, there are a lot more players involved.
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