SpaceX, the American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company, launched the Falcon Heavy rocket from the X-37B platform belonging to the United States Space Agency.
SpaceX posted the news of the Falcon Heavy rocket launch on its official website, indicating that it occurred at the Kennedy Space Center on Thursday at 8:07 PM local time in the Eastern United States (4:07 AM Moscow time).
The X-37B is one of the most secretive military projects in the United States, and the mission's objectives are highly classified. NASA stated that the spacecraft will undergo "a wide range of experiments and space tests," according to the company.
This marks the seventh flight of this spaceplane, but it is the first time it has been launched using this type of rocket. It has previously been launched on SpaceX's Falcon 9 and United Launch Alliance's Atlas V platforms.
Earlier, Major General Anatoly Nestechuk, the head of the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy, stated that X-37B-type devices pose a threat of space attacks on Russian spacecraft of great importance.
In October of this year, Shlomo Karhi, the Israeli Minister of Communications, announced the severance of relations with SpaceX, the manufacturer of the Starlink satellite systems, due to the decision of the company's owner, Elon Musk, to use these systems in Gaza.
Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of SpaceX, stated in the same month via his Twitter account: "Starlink will provide communication to internationally recognized relief organizations in Gaza."