The US military’s Boeing-built X-37B spaceplane is in space again for its eighth mission.

The X-37B is an uncrewed craft that, just like the USA’s retired Space Shuttle, launches on a rocket and after re-entry makes an unpowered landing on a terrestrial runway. The vehicle has engines it can use to maneuver in space, but in 2024 deliberately grazed Earth’s atmosphere by “aerobraking” to make a significant change to its orbit.

It’s thought the spaceplane has other means to change its orbit – a move that requires a lot of energy – and is therefore the subject of occasional criticism from China on grounds it could be a weapons platform.

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Little is known about the missions flown by the X-37B, save that they sometimes last for more than a year and nearly always involve experiments with new space technologies.

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The craft launched again last week, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9, and this time Boeing had a [4]a little to say about the mission, namely that on this flight the spaceplane:

Includes a Boeing integrated service module to increase payload capacity for experimentation activities on orbit; >

Is hosting several technology demonstrations from government partners on this mission, include laser communications and a quantum inertial sensor designed to support navigation when GPS is unavailable.

Boeing tested that quantum GPS tech in March 2025, when it [5]described it as involving a “using a six-axis quantum inertial measurement unit (IMU” that use “a quantum-sensing technique called atom interferometry to detect rotation and acceleration using atoms.”

[6]India to build re-usable launch vehicle after nailing third landing of mini-spaceplane

[7]China lands mysterious reusable spacecraft after 276-day trek

[8]India flies – and lands – reusable autonomous spaceplane

[9]Sierra Nevada Corporation resurrects plans for crewed Dream Chaser spaceplane

The USA’s Sandia National Laboratories have [10]described atom interferometry as “an ultra-precise way of measuring acceleration” and built a “high-performance silicon photonic modulator — a device that controls light on a microchip” to put it to work.

The nub of the matter is that atom interferometry can be used to measure position – the same job we use GPS for today.

Which brings us back to why China is a bit antsy about the X-37B: Beijing worries it could take out its Beidou satnav satellites. The US worries about losing GPS satellites too, as modern warfare relies on them.

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This X-37B flight therefore takes on a little more significance, as it’s testing a tech that could allow future spacecraft – and aircraft and who knows what else – to find their way even if satnav systems succumb to … something.

The Pentagon’s not said when it expects the X-37B back on Earth, or what it hopes to achieve with this mission. ®

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[4] https://boeing.mediaroom.com/2025-08-22-Boeing-Built-X-37B-Spaceplane-Launches,-Beginning-Eighth-Mission

[5] https://www.boeing.com/innovation/innovation-quarterly/2025/03/beyond-gps-quantum-navigation-flight-test

[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/india_orbital_reusable_vehicle/

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/08/asia_tech_news_in_brief/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/02/asia_tech_news_roundup/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/01/snc_dream_chaser/

[10] https://newsreleases.sandia.gov/the-mother-of-all-motion-sensors/

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[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/