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Post by swamprat on Aug 22, 2017 10:10:42 GMT -6
US Air Force Prepping Mysterious X-37B Space Plane for September LaunchBy Leonard David, Space.com's Space Insider Columnist August 17, 2017
The United States Air Force's X-37B program is readying its next robotic mini-shuttle for launch, this time atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The liftoff is scheduled to take place in early September, according to media reports.
Capt. Annmarie Annicelli, a U.S. Air Force spokeswoman, told Inside Outer Space: "At this time, I do not have the launch date to release."
The upcoming X-37B mission — which is known as Orbital Test Vehicle-5 (OTV-5) — will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Shuttle look-alike
The Air Force is known to own two reusable X-37B space planes, which were built by Boeing. The vehicles look like miniature versions of NASA’s now-retired space shuttle orbiter; each X-37B is 29 feet (8.8 meters) long and 9.6 feet (2.9 m) tall, and each has a wingspan of nearly 15 feet (4.6 m).
The space drone has a payload bay about the size of a pickup truck bed that can be outfitted with a robotic arm. It has a launch weight of 11,000 lbs. (4,990 kilograms) and is powered on orbit by gallium- arsenide solar cells with lithium-ion batteries.
Credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com
The X-37B program is managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office to perform risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies.
www.space.com/37831-air-force-x-37b-september-launch.html
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Post by swamprat on Sept 5, 2017 10:24:13 GMT -6
US Air Force's X-37B Space Plane to Launch on Secret Mission Sept. 7By Leonard David, Space.com's Space Insider Columnist September 5, 2017
The U.S. Air Force's enigmatic space drone — the X-37B space plane — is heading for a Sept. 7 liftoff, according to military officials.
In an Air Force Space Command statement, officials with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office said they are undergoing final launch preparations for the fifth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) program. The Air Force has two robotic and reusable X-37B space planes, and has flown both twice.
"The many firsts on this mission make the upcoming OTV launch a milestone for the program," said Randy Walden, director of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, said in the statement. "It is our goal to continue advancing the X-37B OTV so it can more fully support the growing space community." For the first time in the program's history, the unpiloted space plane will launch on a privately built SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Four previous X-37B missions were all lofted by United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rockets. ULA is a joint venture by Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Late last week, the Falcon 9 booster that will launch the X-37B space plane was test-fired, according to SpaceX.
Also, the fifth mission, dubbed OTV-5, will be launched into, and landed from, a higher-inclination orbit than in prior missions "to further expand the X-37B's orbital envelope," according to the Air Force statement.
One of the U.S. Air Force's robotic X-37B space planes is seen on the runway after landing itself following a classified mission. The fifth X-37B mission, called Orbital Test Vehicle 5, will launch Sept. 7, 2017, from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop an Atlas V rocket. Credit: U.S. Air Force
Mystery manifest What this X-37B space-plane mission will carry is largely classified.
However, it is known that the OTV missions are dedicated to advancing the X-37B's performance and flexibility as a space technology demonstrator and host platform for experimental payloads.
"This mission carries small satellite ride shares and will demonstrate greater opportunities for rapid space access and on-orbit testing of emerging space technologies," the Air Force statement added.
"Building upon the fourth mission and previous collaboration with experiment partners, this mission will host the Air Force Research Laboratory Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader [known as ASETS-11] payload to test experimental electronics and oscillating heat pipe technologies in the long duration space environment," the statement explained.
Long-duration record Flights of the craft have repeatedly broken its own long-duration record. • The first OTV mission began April 22, 2010, and concluded Dec. 3, 2010, after 224 days in orbit. • The second OTV mission began March 5, 2011, and concluded June 16, 2012, after 468 days in orbit. • The OTV-3 mission chalked up nearly 675 days in orbit when it landed Oct. 17, 2014. That mission also was the first to reuse an X-37B space plane. • On May 7, 2017, OTV-4 landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility — a first for the program, as all previous OTV missions ended with a tarmac touchdown at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The OTV-4 mission conducted in-orbit experiments for 718 days during its mission, extending the total time spent in orbit for the OTV program to 2,085 days.
Built by Boeing Built by Boeing, the robotic X-37B space plane is one of two known reusable OTV vehicles that constitute the space plane "fleet."
The reusable military space plane, which looks like a miniature version of NASA's now-retired space shuttle orbiter, is 29 feet (8.8 meters) long and 9.6 feet (2.9 m) tall, and has a wing span of nearly 15 feet (4.6 m).
The space drone has a payload bay about the size of a pickup-truck bed that can be outfitted with a robotic arm. It has a launch weight of 11,000 lbs. (5,000 kilograms) and is powered on orbit by gallium arsenide solar cells with lithium-ion batteries.
www.space.com/38040-x-37b-space-plane-secret-mission-launches-september-7.html
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Post by swamprat on Sept 7, 2017 11:03:13 GMT -6
SpaceX Rocket Launches X-37B Space Plane on Secret Mission, Aces Landing By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer September 7, 2017
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the robotic X-37B lifted off today (Sept. 7) at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.
About 2.5 minutes into the flight, the Falcon 9's two stages separated. While the second stage continued hauling the X-37B to orbit, the first stage maneuvered its way back to Earth, eventually pulling off a vertical touchdown at Landing Zone 1, a SpaceX facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which is next door to KSC.
The company has now aced 16 such booster landings during orbital liftoffs — seven at Landing Zone 1 and nine on robotic "drone ships" at sea. These touchdowns are part of SpaceX's effort to develop rapidly reusable spaceflight systems, which company founder and CEO Elon Musk has said could slash the cost of space exploration and utilization.
But the landing was a secondary objective. The main goal today was getting the reusable X-37B — also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) — into orbit.
www.space.com/38067-spacex-launches-x-37b-space-plane.html
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