Military Space Plane Launch Risks International Conflict

A military space plane called the Boeing X-37B blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center this week. Find out more about its secretive mission, and why it creates unnecessary tension between the United States and China.

When I was in university, I remember the excitement my housemates and I felt about the very first space shuttle launch. Columbia lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in April 1981.

It was the world’s first reusable orbiter, and we were fascinated by its ability to land on a runway like an airplane. Unlike the incredibly costly, disposable, rockets with which we were familiar, the space shuttles could fly at least 100 missions each.

The five space shuttles, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, were NASA’s workhorses for three decades. Once they’d finished building the International Space Station, NASA didn’t need them to transport astronauts back and forth, so their days were numbered.

Reusable, Robotic Orbital Test Vehicle

Having said that, there’s one notable exception. The US Space Force operates a reusable, robotic, military space…