The X-37B is slated to lift off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Aug. 21 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Space Force officials announced on Monday (July 28). This will be the eighth mission to date for the robotic X-37B, which is also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle. So the Space Force calls the upcoming flight OTV-8.

Just a few months after wrapping up its seventh test flight in orbit, Space Force’s experimental vehicle known as X-37B is ready for another go. For its upcoming mission, the spaceplane will test new technologies meant to bolster military capabilities in space, such as a navigational sensor that could replace GPS.

It’s unclear how long OTV-8 will last, but if past missions are any indication, the unpiloted plane will remain above the planet for a while. X-37B’s most recent mission launched on December 28, 2023 and returned after 434 days in orbit. Its longest mission (OTV-6) took place from December 28, 2023, to March 7, 2025, and lasted 908 days.