This will be the eighth mission to date for the robotic X-37B<\/a>, which is also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle. So the Space Force calls the upcoming flight OTV-8.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n OTV-8’s launch will come 5.5 months after the X-37B’s most recent return from space<\/a>. That runway landing wrapped up the 434-day-long OTV-7 mission. Space Force officials have not said how long OTV-8 is expected to last.<\/p>\n We do know a little about the payloads going up on the 29-foot-long (8.8 meters) X-37B, which looks like a miniature version of NASA’s old space shuttle<\/a> orbiters. OTV-8 will help demonstrate some new technologies, including laser communications and a quantum inertial sensor, according to the Space Force’s July 28 statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The X-37B will perform examinations using “the highest-performing quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space,” Space Force officials said. The mission will also focus on a laser communications experiment involving “proliferated commercial satellite networks in low Earth orbit<\/a> (LEO),” which likely refers to SpaceX’s huge Starlink<\/a> broadband network.<\/p>\n “OTV-8’s laser communications demonstration will mark an important step in the U.S. Space Force’s ability to leverage proliferated space networks as part of a diversified and redundant space architectures,” Chance Saltzman, the Space Force’s chief of space operations, said in the statement.<\/p>\n Laser communication has benefits over traditional radio frequencies, including more robust data capabilities and less susceptibility to covert transmission interception.<\/p>\n Tapping into constellations like Starlink, which currently boasts more than 8,000 operational satellites<\/a> in LEO, “will mark an important step in the U.S. Space Force’s ability to leverage proliferated space networks as part of a diversified and redundant space architectures,” Saltzman said. “It will strengthen the resilience, reliability, adaptability and data transport speeds of our satellite communications architecture.”<\/p>\n Another look at the X-37B, which is about 29 feet (8.8 meters) long. (Image credit: US Space Force)<\/p>\n X-37B’s quantum inertial sensor will test the reliability of navigating in space without traditional GPS<\/a>. Instead, the sensor will assess its orbital coordinates by measuring the rotation and acceleration of nearby atoms.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/YMvZPcJY6QpJnj9MU9WxiW.jpg\")
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