- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
SpaceX launches secretive US military spacecraft on research mission
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket blasted back into space on Thursday night to ferry the US military's secretive X-37B drone to a research mission.
After weeks of delays, the rocket launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:07 pm Eastern Time (0107 GMT Friday) in a liftoff livestreamed on SpaceX's website.
It is unclear where exactly the uncrewed and autonomously operating spacecraft is headed on its seventh mission.
The Pentagon has released little information about the space drone and its mission, which was initially scheduled for December 7, and SpaceX only cited the Pentagon's mission code name -- USSF-52 -- in its statement on the launch.
"Falcon Heavy launched the USSF-52 mission to orbit from Launch Complex 39A," SpaceX said.
Earlier, the Pentagon had said the X-37B's seventh mission would entail "multiple cutting-edge experiments".
"These tests include operating the reusable spaceplane in new orbital regimes, experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies, and investigating the radiation effects on materials provided by NASA," the US Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office said in a statement last month.
It added that this is the first time the X-37B is lifting off on a Falcon Heavy, one of the most powerful operational rockets, capable of carrying payloads of up to 26,700 kilograms (58,900 pounds) deep into space.
About the size of a small bus, the X-37B US space drone looks like a mini version of the manned space shuttles retired in 2011. On previous missions, the X-37B has carried out tests for NASA on the impact of radiation on seeds and other materials.
The Falcon Heavy launch comes two weeks after China sent its own secretive robotic space plane, called Shenlong, into orbit for what state news agency Xinhua said would be a "period of time".
"During this period, reusable technology verification and space science experiments will be carried out as planned to provide technical support for the peaceful use of space," Xinhua said after the December 14 launch.
In operation since 2010, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle was designed for the Air Force by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
It is 30 feet (nine meters) long, has a 15-foot wingspan and is powered by solar panels.
P.Petrenko--CPN