X-37B OTV-1

Spacecraft n°:

US spacecraft n°:

Launch data: Designation  36514 / 10015A Launch date  22 Apr 2010 - 23:52 UT Launch site  CC, SLC-41 Launch vehicle  Atlas-V/501 (#1) - AV-012 Mission  Military: Technology development Reusable satellite LEO Earth orbit on Jul 7.36: Perigee / Apogee  401 x 416 km Eccentricity  1,33E-03 Inclination  39.99 deg Period  92.73 min Landing date - time  03 Dec 2010 - 09:16 UT Landing location  Vandenberg AFB Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  224.39 days Nbr orbits

X-37 (Boeing) X-37 on orbit (Boeing)

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

Mission details:

• Technology demonstration. Likely to be used for flight testing new reusable space launch vehicle (SLV) technologies (such as guidance and thermal protection) and on-orbit testing of new sensor technologies and satellite hardware primarily for space-based remote sensing.
• The US Air Force launched its X-37B orbital spaceplane on Apr 22, 2010. The Atlas V 501 rocket put the X-37B in low Earth orbit about 17 min after launch. The orbit is probably somewhere in the 430-450 km range with an inclination between 28 and 40 deg. The Centaur AV-012 rocket separated at 0010 UTC on Apr 23 and then made a second burn at 0035 UTC to deplete its remaining fuel, sending it into solar orbit. The Atlas V is overpowered for missions like these, so the Centaur ends up with lots of extra propellant. An escape-orbit disposal was also used for the final stage from the AV-017 DMSP launch last year.
• AV-012 appears to be the first United States space vehicle in solar orbit whose orbit around the Sun is officially secret.
• The X-37B is a 5000 kg winged vehicle 8.8m long 2.9m high and 4.5m in wingspan. Originally designed under a NASA program, it is now a DARPA/Air Force project developed by the Air Force Research Lab at Kirtland AFB and built by Boeing Phantom Works at Huntington Beach, California.
• This is flight 1 of vehicle OTV-1, and has been given the cover name USA 212 by USStratCom. Assuming a successful mission, it will be followed in 2010-2011 by flight 1 of OTV-2, and then be reflown itself as flight 2 of OTV-1. A significant aspect of the program is testing vehicle ground processing which is designed to be quicker and simpler than for the Shuttle.
• The X-37B spaceplane landed successfully at Vandenberg Air Force Base at 0916 UTC on Dec 3, 2010. Launched on Apr 22 by an Atlas V, the X-37B completed its mission with the second ever automated runway landing following orbital re-entry; the first was the USSR's Buran in 1988.