THE NEW SPACE RACE: U.S. military spaceplane completes 7th mission, including advanced orbital maneuvers.

Designated Orbital Test Vehicle-7 (OTV-7), the autonomous spacecraft launched on December 28, 2023, marking several firsts for the program – including its first flight aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket and operations in a highly elliptical Earth orbit (HEO).

“Mission 7 broke new ground by showcasing the X-37B’s ability to flexibly accomplish its test and experimentation objectives across orbital regimes,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said in a statement following the landing.

The Space Force considers the mission particularly significant for its demonstration of aerobraking maneuvers — a technique that uses atmospheric drag during multiple orbital passes to change the spacecraft’s trajectory while conserving fuel. This capability provides tactical advantages that align with the Space Force’s growing focus on space domain awareness and orbital agility.

The aerobraking capability essentially gives the X-37B a stealth mode for orbital changes without visible propulsion signatures that might be detected by adversaries.

China has one, too: China’s mysterious Shenlong space plane.