A Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled to launch the robotic vehicle at 8:14 p.m. EST on Sunday (Dec. 10).

猎鹰重型火箭计划于晚上 8 点 14 分发射机器人飞行器。美国东部时间周日（12 月 10 日）。

The U.S. Space Force's mysterious X-37B space plane is just about ready to take flight for the seventh time.

美国太空军神秘的 X-37B 太空飞机即将第七次升空。

The Space Force and SpaceX "are making final preparations" for the planned Sunday evening (Dec. 10) launch of the robotic X-37B, Space Force officials said in an emailed update today (Dec. 7).

太空部队官员在今天（12 月 7 日）的电子邮件更新中表示，太空部队和 SpaceX 正在为计划于周日晚上（12 月 10 日）发射机器人 X-37B 进行“最后的准备”。

The space plane is scheduled to lift off atop a Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a 10-minute window that opens at 8:14 p.m. EST (0114 GMT on Dec. 11). If SpaceX webcasts the launch as expected, you'll be able to watch the action live here at Space.com.

这架太空飞机计划在晚上 8 点 14 分开放的 10 分钟时间内，搭乘猎鹰重型火箭从佛罗里达州 NASA 肯尼迪航天中心升空。美国东部时间（12 月 11 日格林尼治标准时间 0114）。如果 SpaceX 按预期进行网络直播发射，您将能够在 Space.com 上观看现场直播。

The Space Force is believed to possess two X-37B vehicles, both of which were built by Boeing. The space planes look a lot like NASA's old space shuttle orbiters, but they're much smaller; both X-37Bs could fit inside the payload bay of a single space shuttle.

据信太空军拥有两架 X-37B 飞行器，两者均由波音公司制造。这些太空飞机看起来很像美国宇航局的老式航天飞机轨道飞行器，但它们要小得多。两种 X-37B 都可以安装在单个航天飞机的有效载荷舱内。

The two X-37Bs have flown a total of six missions to date, each one longer and more ambitious than the last. The most recent one, known as OTV-6 (Orbital Test Vehicle-6), touched down in November 2022 after circling Earth for 908 days.

迄今为止，两架 X-37B 总共执行了六次任务，每一次都比上一次时间更长、任务更艰巨。最近的一颗被称为 OTV-6（轨道测试飞行器 6），在绕地球运行 908 天后于 2022 年 11 月着陆。

It's unclear how long the coming flight, OTV-7, will last; the Space Force releases few details about X-37B missions, as most of their payloads are classified. Some of this gear is likely to be novel reconnaissance instruments; military officials have long said that the X-37B is used primarily as a testbed for new technologies.

目前尚不清楚即将到来的 OTV-7 航班将持续多长时间；太空部队很少公布有关 X-37B 任务的细节，因为其大部分有效载荷都是机密。其中一些装备可能是新颖的侦察仪器；军方官员长期以来一直表示，X-37B 主要用作新技术的测试平台。

But the X-37B carries up some civilian research cargo as well. For example, one of the unclassified experiments going up on OTV-7 is Seeds-2, a NASA project that will test how seeds are affected by long-term exposure to space radiation.

但 X-37B 也运载一些民用研究货物。例如，OTV-7 上正在进行的非机密实验之一是 Seeds-2，这是 NASA 的一个项目，将测试长期暴露于太空辐射对种子的影响。

The first five X-37B missions launched atop United Launch Alliance Atlas V rockets, and the most recent one flew aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. OTV-7 will be the first to use the powerful Falcon Heavy.

前五次 X-37B 任务是在联合发射联盟 Atlas V 火箭上发射的，最近一次是在 SpaceX Falcon 9 号火箭上发射的。OTV-7 将是第一个使用强大的 Falcon Heavy 的火箭。

The Heavy has eight missions under its belt to date. It last launched in October, sending NASA's Psyche spacecraft toward the bizarre metal asteroid of the same name.

迄今为止，机枪手已经执行了八次任务。它上次发射是在 10 月份，将 NASA 的 Psyche 宇宙飞船送向同名的奇异金属小行星。