<p><br /> An unmanned Atlas rocket carrying a miniature space shuttle has blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on a test flight that could last as long as nine months.<br /> </p><p><br /> The 20-storey rocket, built under a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, had a picture perfect lift-off and soared over the Atlantic Ocean, heading toward orbit.<br /> </p><p><br /> The point of the military project is to test a next-generation space shuttle, which is due to retire in mid-September.<br /> </p><p><br /> Unlike the current Space Shuttle, the X-37B is not meant to carry people and is designed to spend as long as nine months in space, then land autonomously on a runway.<br /> </p><p><br /> If the flight of the X-37B is successful, the Air Force plans to launch a second vehicle in 2011.<br /> </p><p><br /> The aircraft's stated mission is to examine safer and less costly re-entry possibilities, although there is speculation among military and security insiders that the X-37B will be used to position satellites and other types of surveillance.<br /> </p><p><br /> The Air Force spacecraft's launch has been delayed several times, and was most recently postponed earlier this week to accommodate Discovery's return.<br /> </p>
