The U.S. Space Force will launch the eighth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Wednesday, testing next-generation technologies.

Space Force is partnering with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, the Air Force Research Lab and the Defense Innovation Unit to launch the mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, according to a service news release.

X-37B Mission 8 will conduct laser communications, which can send larger amounts of data in safer transmissions, and test the world’s highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space. This sensor can provide navigation support without the use of satellite networks, like GPS.

“OTV-8’s laser communications demonstration will mark an important step in the U.S. Space Force’s ability to leverage proliferated space networks as part of a diversified and redundant space architectures,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said. “In so doing, it will strengthen the resilience, reliability, adaptability and data transport speeds of our satellite communications architecture.”

These experiments are part of the Space Force’s effort to uphold the safety and security of the space domain by enhancing the resilience and flexibility of U.S. orbital systems.