Overview
- The OTV-8 mission is set to lift off on August 21 from Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket under the designation USSF-36.
- It will carry the world’s highest-performing quantum inertial sensor ever flown in space to enable precise navigation without relying on GPS signals.
- A laser communications demonstration will test secure, high-bandwidth infrared links with proliferated commercial satellites in low Earth orbit.
- Payloads are being developed in collaboration with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, Air Force Research Laboratory and Defense Innovation Unit.
- Since 2010 the X-37B has accumulated over 4,000 days in orbit across seven missions, including OTV-7’s 434-day flight that featured the first aerobraking maneuvers.