On 21st August 2025, less than six months after concluding its seventh mission, the Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) was again launched into space. Lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the OTV hosts technology demonstrations for several U.S. government partners including the Defense Innovation Unit and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
The seventh spaceflight of the X-37B was successfully completed on 7th March (click here for more information about that mission) and it took less than six months to prepare the Boeing-built returnable spacecraft for another test flight. On 21st August, at 11:50 pm Eastern Time, the OTV was again launched into space from Kennedy Space Center, lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
For its eighth space mission, the X-37B was fitted with a Boeing integrated service module to increase payload capacity for experimentation activities on orbit.
´Our role is to make sure the spaceplane is the most reliable testbed it can be,´ said Michelle Parker, vice president of Boeing Space Mission Systems. ´None of this happens without teamwork. Launch is the starting line for this mission, but the work that follows – the quiet, methodical work on orbit, analysis and eventual return is where progress is earned.´
As part of its current space mission, the OTV is hosting several technology demonstrations from government partners, including laser communications and a quantum inertial sensor, the devices designed to support navigation when GPS is unavailable.
It is worth mentioning that during its previous mission, the spacecraft executed a first of its kind aerobraking manoeuvres to change orbits while conserving propellant.
´Having a returnable space platform allows us to learn faster,´ said Col. Brian Chatman, installation commander for Space Launch Delta 45. ´The data we gather from the X-37B speeds decisions, hardens our architectures, and helps Guardians stay connected and on course even in contested environments. This is how we move from promising ideas to fieldable capability at pace.´
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is a joint project between the US government and its industry partners, led by the United States Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, with the US Space Force overseeing operations.
The Boeing company and its teams are responsible for the design, construction, integration and operation of the reusable spaceplane. Since its first flight in 2010, the OTV has successfully completed seven missions, spending, in total, more than 4,200 days in space. After each flight the X-37B returns to Earth for inspection and augmentation.
Nevertheless, several details related to the X-37B space activities and the technologies tested during its space missions, as well as the OTV itself, remain strictly confidential.
Cover photo: Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. All photos and quotations © Boeing. Information from the Boeing Company press releases were used.
