The experimental vehicle, known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 2 (OTV-2), lifted off aboard an Atlas V carrier rocket at 5:46 p.m. EST (22:46 GMT) on Saturday from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The robotic OTV, which resembles a miniature space shuttle, is about 29 feet long with a wingspan of about 15 feet. The spacecraft draws solar power for energy using unfolding panels.
The first X-37B prototype completed its first mission in December last year, landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, after 220 days in space.
The X-37B project has been in development for about a decade, involving the Air Force, NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Both prototypes have been built by the California branch of Boeing`s Phantom Works in Huntington Beach.
According to Air Force officials, the unmanned mini-shuttle could be used for a variety of missions including reconnaissance, in-space service and repair of satellites, deploying and retrieving spacecraft, and testing new technologies.(*)
(U.KR-BPY/H-AK)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
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