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LAUNCH OF 8TH X-37B SPACEPLANE MISSION (OTV-8), Aug 21, 2025, KSC, 11:50 pm ET
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Update, August 20: SpaceX’s website says the launch time on August 21 is 11:50 pm ET (August 22, 3:50 am UTC). SpaceX will webcast the launch starting about 20 minutes before liftoff.
Update, August 14: X-37 is still on track for launch on August 21.
Teams encapsulated the X-37B ahead of next week’s Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A in Florida https://t.co/RkaeBUqY0g
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 14, 2025
Original Entry: The U.S. Space Force (USSF) will launch the 8th flight of Boeing’s X-37B spaceplane on August 21, 2025 from Kennedy Space Center.
The USSF refers to the spaceplane at the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) and therefore call this OTV-8. There are two Boeing OTVs. USSF did not specify which vehicle it is.
The OTVs look like small space shuttles, but there is no one aboard. They often remain in space for very long periods of time — as many as 908 days — although the most recent landed in March 2025 after only 434 days.
Most of the experiments conducted on these flights are classified and not disclosed, but the USSF shares some information.
OTV-8 will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center. The launch time was not disclosed. The launch is designated USSF-36.