X-37B OTV-2

Spacecraft nº:

US spacecraft nº:

Launch data: Designation  37375 / 11010A Launch date  05 Mar 2011 - 22:46 UT   (5:46 p.m. EST) Launch site  CC, SLC-41 Launch vehicle  Atlas-V (501) (AV-026) Mission  Military: Technology development Reusable spaceplane LEO Earth orbit on Mars 13.70: Perigee / Apogee  315 x 341 km Eccentricity  1.19E-03 Inclination  42.86 deg Period  91.10 min Landing date - time  16 June 2012 - 12:48 UT Landing location  Vandenberg AFB Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  469 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 (4990? kg) Dry Mass   kg Basic shape  Cylindrical + wings Dimension (m)  8.84m long 2.9m high and 4.5m 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. Examine how highly complex technologies will perform in space before they are made operational. Capable of re-entry and landing.
• The X-37B spaceplane, called the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) by the US Air Force, is a reusable lifting body similar in concept to the Space Shuttle Orbiter but much smaller (5000 kg rather than 100000 kg) and with no crew. At least two OTVs have been built; OTV-1 made its first flight from 2010 Apr 23 to Dec 3, and OTV-2 was launched on its first flight on Mar 5, 2011.
• The craft is possibly in a circa 400 x 420 km x 40 deg orbit like that used by OTV-1; the mission is expected to last about 9 months with landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in around December. Launch was by United Launch Alliance with a Lockheed Martin Atlas V 501, serial AV-026. Centaur AV-026 was deorbited over the Indian Ocean on the first orbit.
• Mars 2012: The robotic spacecraft's purpose is secret, but Air Force officials acknowledge the vehicle is performing well one year after it blasted off on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.
  The Air Force decided to continue the space plane's mission beyond its 270-day design life, which ran out in late November. Before its launch in March, officials hinted the second X-37B flight would test the spacecraft's design, pushing it farther than engineers did the first space plane.
  Once its mission is over, the X-37B will fire a powerful engine to fall from orbit. After weathering the brutal heat of re-entry, the stubby-winged spacecraft will automatically approach a 15,000-foot runway at Vandenberg with the help of GPS navigation, line up with the landing strip, deploy a landing gear and touch down at more than 200 mph.
• The US Air Force's X-37B flight vehicle 2, which had been in orbit since March 2011, landed on the runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base at 1248 UTC on June 16, 2012. The spacecraft had been in a 330 x 340 km x 42.8 deg orbit until a series of burns lowered it to 280 km during late May; hobbyist observers last saw it on May 31. The circa-5000-kg robot spaceplane, launched on an Atlas V, carried a secret payload. Flight vehicle 1, which flew in orbit from Apr-Dec 2010, is being prepared for its second spaceflight. The X-37B project is managed by the USAF's Rapid Capabilities Office in Washington; the vehicle was developed by Air Force Research Laboratory offices AFRL/RV at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico and AFRL/RB (Air Vehicles) at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, with Boeing Phantom Works. This sets it apart from other USAF space projects which are mostly managed out of Los Angeles, and indicates a closer connection with the `air' side of the Air Force.