SecAF Heather Wilson Mentions Launch During SASC Hearing

SpaceX has apparently scored a plum assignment from the U.S. Air Force. The next time the AF's secretive X-37B is launched, it will ride to orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster.

Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson announced the launch during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday. She said "SpaceX will be sending the next Air Force payload up into space in August,” and later confirmed that the payload would be the X-37B.

Market Watch reports that all previous launches of the autonomous mini-shuttle have been conducted by The United Launch Alliance. SpaceX has been working to make inroads into the military launch market for several years.

The Air Force has two of the spaceplanes. The most recent flight touched down in Florida in early May after nearly two years in space.

The Air Force would not say when the contract was awarded ... though such agreements are normally made as long as two years before the scheduled launch. Reuters reports that SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell declined to comment on Wilson's announcement.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.af.mil, www.spacex.com