[Note: multiple hyperlinks found at linked website article.]

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US military's X-37B space plane lands, ending record-breaking mystery mission

By Mike Wall published 7 days ago

The X-37B circled Earth for 908 days on its OTV-6 mission.


The U.S. Space Force's X-37B space plane is seen shortly after landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 12, 2022, bringing an end to its OTV-6 mission. (Image credit: Boeing/US Space Force)

The record-breaking sixth mission of the U.S. military's X-37B space plane is finally over.

The robotic X-37B touched down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida today (Nov. 12) at 5:22 a.m. EST (1022 GMT). The winged vehicle had spent 908 days in orbit — more than four months longer than any previous X-37B flight.

The Boeing-built space plane also carried a service module on the newly completed mission, a first for the U.S. Space Force's X-37B program.

"With the service module added, this was the most we've ever carried to orbit on the X-37B, and we're proud to have been able to prove out this new and flexible capability for the government and its industry partners," Jim Chilton, senior vice president at Boeing Space and Launch, said in a statement.


Technicians work with the recently landed robotic X-37B space plane at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 12, 2022. (Image credit: Boeing/US Space Force)

The X-37B resembles NASA's now-retired space shuttle but is much smaller, measuring just 29 feet (8.8 meters) from nose to tail. The space shuttle was 122 feet (37 m) long and was piloted — another key difference, as the X-37B is autonomous.

The U.S. Space Force is thought to own two X-37B vehicles, both of which were provided by Boeing. To date, the duo has flown six orbital missions, each of which is known by the signifier OTV ("Orbital Test Vehicle"):

• OTV-1: Launched on April 22, 2010 and landed on Dec. 3, 2010 (duration 224 days).

• OTV-2: March 5, 2011 to June 16, 2012 (468 days).

• OTV-3: Dec. 11, 2012 to Oct. 17, 2014 (674 days).

• OTV-4: May 20, 2015 to May 7, 2015 (718 days).

• OTV-5: Sept. 7, 2017 to Oct. 27, 2019 (780 days).

• OTV-6: May 17, 2020 to Nov. 12, 2022 (908 days).


Space Force and Boeing describe the X-37B as chiefly a testing platform; the vehicle allows researchers to see how payloads work in the space environment and then examine them afterward on the ground.

"Since the X-37B's first launch in 2010, it has shattered records and provided our nation with an unrivaled capability to rapidly test and integrate new space technologies," Chilton said.

Many of these payloads are classified, as are most of the X-37B's activities; the Space Force doesn't announce details of the vehicle's orbit, for example, or tell us in advance when each OTV mission is going to end.

But military officials do reveal information about some of the hardware the X-37B totes aloft. For example, we know that OTV-6 tested the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module. This device, about the size of a pizza box, is designed to convert solar energy into microwaves, which can then be beamed down to Earth. Its work could help bring space-based solar power closer to reality, experiment team members have said.

OTV-6 also carried FalconSat-8, a satellite designed by cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy that carries five experimental payloads of its own. The X-37B deployed FalconSat-8 in October 2021, and the satellite remains in orbit today, Boeing representatives said in today's statement.

OTV-6 carried a few known NASA experiments as well. One tested how space radiation affects plant seeds, and another gauged how various materials respond to the space environment.

"This mission highlights the Space Force's focus on collaboration in space exploration and expanding low-cost access to space for our partners, within and outside of the Department of the Air Force," Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force's chief of space operations, said in the same statement. (The Space Force is part of the U.S. Air Force, much as the Marine Corps is part of the Navy.)

While OTV-6 set a new mission-duration record for the X-37B program, it didn't come close to the overall spaceflight mark.

Some Earth-observation and communications satellites operate in Earth orbit for a decade or more, for example. The International Space Station has been continuously occupied by rotating astronaut crews since November 2000, and NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes remain operational in interstellar space more than 45 years after lifting off.

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall(opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom(opens in new tab) or on Facebook(opens in new tab).

Mike Wall Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com(opens in new tab) and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

Hmmm.
Sounds like the time for a trip to Mars and back.

What's with the hazmat suits? Are they out there fishing around for the next Andromeda Strain or something?

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
What's with the hazmat suits? Are they out there fishing around for the next Andromeda Strain or something?

I guess the guy in the background with exposed skin is the test bed subject?

^^^Lowly 'Ramp Worker'/Parking Attendant...Only the PhD Engineers get to wear the HazMat Suits!

Propellent is hypergolic gases( nitrogen/hydralazine)--highly toxic.

Unmanned Robotic Spaceplane.
Autonomous guidance system.
Reusable 29 ft spacecraft
Air Force Space Command
Built by Boeing's Phantom Works

Sounds more like Lockheed's Blackbird project developed by Skunkworks.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
What's with the hazmat suits? Are they out there fishing around for the next Andromeda Strain or something?

Hydrazine

We heard the twin booms, oh so early.

I love this thing. It is apparently a 25% scale model of the Shuttle, so the aerodynamics are very similar. It goes up, the USAF (or now is it Space Force?) doesn't say a WORD about what it's doing, and it comes back down years later. It's really an impressive spacecraft.

In many regards, this is what the Shuttle SHOULD HAVE been. The Shuttle was a huge turkey, in that it was simply too big and too expensive and too complicated. It was supposed to have 50 launches a year, but they only managed about 4-5 I think on their best year. It ate up so much of NASA's budget that they lost a lot of other great missions/projects.

Back in the 80s, we didn't have near the capability to do 'remote' work like we can now. Humans are great for spaceflight, but there is no way this thing would be able to launch and stay on orbit for more than a week or so before running out of oxygen and food. Eliminating humans from the spacecraft also greatly simplifies the design, and also reduces most of the risk from a public affairs perspective. There would not have been such a public outcry such as was expressed over losing Challenger and Columbia if it were an unmanned orbiter going down in flames.

I just wish they would name them. "X-37B" is fine, but I would MUCH rather have a news story about the 'USS Intrepid' or "USS Yorktown.". .

How about "USSS" for "United States Space Ship"?

E.g. "USSS Grissom", "USSS Armstrong".

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
How about "USSS" for "United States Space Ship"?

E.g. "USSS Grissom", "USSS Armstrong".

Maybe SV Grissom (Space Vessel). . .

But, I think that is already used for 'Sailing Vessel.' I think the Shuttles were OV-1, OV-2, etc, for Orbital Vehicle, though few people knew about that designation.

I do love the Gus Grissom reference. OV-8 USS Grissom.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
What's with the hazmat suits? Are they out there fishing around for the next Andromeda Strain or something?

They're just woke, that's all, nothing to see here, carry on. Looks a little stupid for sure.