The X-37B, a prototype space drone operated by the U.S. Air Force, is entering the third month of a classified space mission
The U.S. Air Force’s mysterious X-37B space plane is quietly chalking up mileage in space more than two months after its latest launch into orbit.
The robotic X-37B space plane soared into orbit atop an Atlas 5 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 11. The mini-shuttle’s mission is known as Orbital Test Vehicle-3 (OTV-3), since it is the third classified mission under the Air Force’s X-37B program.
How long OTV-3 will remain in Earth orbit is unknown. The hush-hush space plane mission is officially on Air Force space tracking books as USA-240.
“The mission is ongoing,” Air Force Maj. Eric Badger, a spokesman for the X-37B program, told SPACE.com. “As with previous missions, the actual duration will depend on test objectives, on-orbit vehicle performance and conditions at the landing facility.” [Photos: U.S. Military’s X-37B Space Plane]
A new reusable space plane
The current flight underway has attained one known major milestone — that of reusability.
This same vehicle was flown on the maiden voyage in the X-37B program back in 2010. That OTV-1 mission lasted nearly 225 days in orbit and then zoomed back to Earth on autopilot over the Pacific Ocean, gliding down onto a specially prepared runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The OTV-2 mission, which used a different X-37B vehicle, also made a Vandenberg touchdown on June 16 of last year after remaining in orbit for 469 days, more than doubling its sister ship’s stay.
There’s a possibility that OTV-3 may not land in Vandenberg. There have been discussions about bringing the space plane down at the space shuttle landing strip at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, next door to Cape Canaveral, as a possible cost-cutting measure.
“The possibility of using the former shuttle infrastructure for future X-37B landing operations is still being investigated,” Badger said.
Space test platform
The Latest Bing News on:
Robot space plane
- NASA wants to build a levitating robot train on the Moonon May 12, 2024 at 8:03 am
NASA has big plans to construct a levitating robot train on the Moon, allowing for easier distribution of supplies and materials.
- 10 anime series to watch if you love space and tales from galaxies far far awayon May 11, 2024 at 5:00 pm
From Cowboy Bebop, Space Brothers and Gunbuster to Knights of Sidonia, here are the best space anime series to put on your watchlist.
- SpaceHopper robot wants to hop along small celestial bodieson May 11, 2024 at 7:30 am
Developed at ETH Zurich, SpaceHopper is designed to use its three legs to hop along asteroids or far away moons to search for rare minerals.
- John Mulaney’s ‘Everybody’s in L.A.’: A guide to the hyperlocal referenceson May 9, 2024 at 12:44 pm
John Mulaney’s latest Netflix foray, a live late-night show for six nights only, features people, places and things specific to Los Angeles.
- Robots Hackson May 4, 2024 at 5:00 pm
That’s not to say that wire is off the table for locksports, though, as this cool lock-picking robot demonstrates ... until they line up with the shear plane, allowing the cylinder to turn.
- Review: Dreame X30 Ultra Robot Vacuum and Mopon April 25, 2024 at 3:00 am
It sounds like a plane prepping for takeoff, but it's removing both dirty water and dry dust from the robot vac in one swoop, so it's worth it. Just don't run it while anyone's sleeping nearby.
- What are robot umpires and how do they work? Explaining the ABS system.on April 23, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The system generates a two-dimensional plane along the x and z axis that is based on the individual batter. "It's smaller than a real zone," Space Cowboys pitcher Blair Henley said. "I've heard ...
- Watch a tripod robot test its asteroid leaping skillson April 12, 2024 at 6:35 am
But thanks to the European Space Agency and Novespace, a company specializing in zero-g plane rides, the robot could test out its moves in the next best thing. Over the course of a recent 30 ...
- Antarctica mysteries to be mapped by robot planeon February 2, 2024 at 4:01 pm
The autonomous plane will map areas of the continent that have been out of bounds to researchers. It has been put to the test in extreme weather around Wales' highest peaks. Its first experiment ...
- Battle of the secret robot space planes as US and China launch test flightson December 29, 2023 at 4:52 am
China’s space plane can currently only launch on a Long March 2F rocket, meaning it cannot go further than low-Earth orbit.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Robot space plane
[google_news title=”” keyword=”robot space plane” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”] [/vc_column_text]The Latest Bing News on:
Reusable space plane
- First Dream Chaser spaceplane needs more work when it gets to launch siteon May 9, 2024 at 4:59 pm
Sierra Space next performed another shock test using the separation system that will jettison the disposable cargo module from the reusable spaceplane before reentry and landing at the end of its ...
- Dream Chaser spaceplane completes tests at NASA’s Neil Armstrong facilityon May 9, 2024 at 1:29 pm
During its ascent into space, the spaceplane’s folded wings are protected by a payload fairing. Once in orbit, the fairing is jettisoned. The cargo module, Shooting Star, is not reusable. For Tenacity ...
- India Aims To Be In Top Group Of Global Space Powerson April 29, 2024 at 11:39 am
By Girish Linganna India’s space programme has been in the spotlight ever since the Chandrayaan-3 mission landed on the Moon’s southern hemisphere on August 23, 2023. The mission—costing a meager $75 ...
- China's space plane apparently deployed 6 'mysterious wingmen' in orbiton December 18, 2023 at 1:33 pm
China's reusable space plane just got a little more mysterious. Just four days after being launched on its third mission, China's Shenlong ("Divine Dragon") robotic space plane seems to have ...
- China lands its secretive space plane after 9 months in orbiton May 8, 2023 at 3:56 pm
China's mysterious reusable space plane landed on Monday, after 276 days in Earth's orbit. The nine-month mission was the longest yet for the new space plane. It had flown to orbit once before ...
- The Trouble With Hubble: Payload Computer Glitch Stops Science At The Space Observatoryon July 1, 2021 at 5:01 pm
the reusable space plane that would come to be known as the Space Shuttle. The parallel development of the Space Shuttle and the space telescope, which would eventually be named after American ...
- Chinese Astronauts Training for Space Station Crewed Flightson March 3, 2021 at 4:00 pm
If it succeeds, China would become only the second country after the U.S. to put a spacecraft on Mars. China is also working on a reusable space plane and planning a crewed lunar mission and a ...
- Phantom Express: The Spaceplane That Never Wason March 27, 2020 at 4:22 am
SpaceX has shown that you don’t need wings to make a reusable rocket. While they’re still a long way off from daily flights, they’ve achieved a reflight cadence equal to that of the Space ...
- Long March rocketson February 13, 2018 at 9:15 pm
In some ways, China’s Shenlong is similar to the U.S. X-37B reusable space plane, whose planned operations and capabilities have similarly remained unclear. Debris found in two separate ...
- Super-secret X-37B space plane nears one year in orbiton May 15, 2016 at 5:00 pm
Originally intended as part of a NASA project to develop a reusable unmanned ... that it could be a spy plane while others think that it is intended to deliver space-based weapons.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Reusable space plane
[google_news title=”” keyword=”reusable space plane” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]