As soon as observers calculate the orbit of the American military spaceplane X-37B, the goals of its launch will become clear, says the head of the Russian Space Policy Institute Ivan Moiseev.

On Thursday, a Falcon Heavy rocket launched the US Space Force’s unmanned X-37B spaceplane into orbit. This is the seventh flight of the X-37B, the fourth for this device and the first using a super-heavy rocket.

The orbital spaceplane is considered one of the Pentagon’s most secret projects. Neither the details of the mission, nor even its goals are disclosed.

Judging by the use of a heavy-lift rocket, they want to send the X-37B high into space, Moiseev suggested.

“For now, the exact parameters of the orbit are unknown. This is an interesting question. But it will be determined quickly enough, you can’t hide it. They should publish it, they usually do. Not officially by the US authorities, of course, but by observers,” he explained.

According to the expert, the highly elliptical orbit “Molniya” (after the name of the first Soviet satellite that was launched into it) is convenient because at its apogee the device seems to hover over a certain point on the planet.

Moiseev hypothesized that the spaceplane carries several small military satellites on board. He will release them if necessary, and if not needed, he will bring them back to Earth.