SpaceX's Fifth Falcon Heavy Launch Carries Secretive X-37B Space Plane

The US Department of Defense's X-37B spaceplane is set to return to space on the OTV-7 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. This will be the fifth Falcon Heavy flight of 2023 and is scheduled for Monday, December 11. The X-37B will be carrying various experiments, including NASA's Seeds-2 experiment to study the effects of radiation on plant seeds. The Falcon Heavy boosters will be attempted to be recovered, which is not always possible due to mission requirements. The X-37B has the ability to stay in orbit for over 900 days and this mission will be the first competitively won military mission for Falcon Heavy. SpaceX aims to launch 100 times this year and has three more Falcon Heavy flights scheduled for 2024.