X-37B OTV-5

X-37B OTV-6 (USA 299, USSF 7)

USA

Spacecraft nº:

US spacecraft nº:

OTV = Orbital Test Vehicle - X-37B #1 F3?

Designation	45606 / 20029A
Launch date	17 May 2020 - 13:14 UTC
Launch site	SLC, LC-41
Launch vehicle	Atlas-V (501)
Mission	Military: Technology development Reusable Spaceplane
LEO Earth orbit:
Perigee / Apogee	389 x 390 km
Eccentricity
Inclination	45.0 deg
Period	min
Landing date - time	UT
Landing location	SLF runway at KSC.
Flight Duration (d:hr:min)	days
Nbr orbits

Prime contractor	Boeing Satellite Systems
Platform
Operator	NASA, USAF
Mass at launch	5400 kg
Dry Mass	kg
Basic shape	Cylindrical + wings
Dimension (m)	8.84m long 2.9m high and 4.5m wingspan
Solar array	Deployable solar array
Stabilization
Propulsion	Nitrogen tetroxide / hydrazine propulsion system
DC power

This is the six OTV (Orbital Test Vehicle) mission. The OTV-6 is a robotic spaceplane developed by the US Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and carries secret test payloads.
The spaceplane is made of light-weight composite structures instead of aluminum and shielded with improved leading-edge ceramic insulation panels on its wings and tougher silica tiles affixed to its belly that are designed to be more durable than first-generation tiles used on the space shuttle. It can weigh up to 11,000 pounds fueled for launch.
Unlike the space shuttles that used cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen reactants to generate electricity through onboard fuel cells, limiting the mission lengths by the amount of consumables that could be carried, the OTV is powered by a deployable solar array.

United Launch Alliance launched Atlas AV-081 on US Space Force mission USSF-7 on May 17, 2020. The Atlas placed an X-37B spaceplane in orbit, OTV flight 6. The Centaur AV-081 upper stage reached orbit around 1330 UTC.
OTV-6 separated a few minutes later. It was assigned catalog 45606, code name USA 299. The Centaur AV-081 stage made a deorbit burn at about 1340 UTC and reentered over the Indian Ocean about 1410 UTC. OTV-6 was quickly located by observers in a 380 x 399 km x 45.0 deg orbit.
The OTV missions are run by the US Air Force′s Rapid Capabilities Office, located in Washington DC, and not by the usual USAF space organizations in the Los Angeles area.
This mission carries an additional service module for the first time, attached to the aft end of the X-37B. No pictures or drawings of the service module have been released. It is unclear whether the service module will be left in orbit as debris at the end of the mission, or whether it has its own propulsion.
A small satellite, the USAF Academy′s FalconSat-8, will be deployed from the SM. FalconSat-8 is an ESPASat-class satellite with a mass of about 140 kg and is 0.61 x 0.71 x 0.97 m in size.

Ref.: #7(JR778) - update: 05.06.20