By Marina Malenic
The Air Force is preparing to launch a second X-37 experimental space plane into low earth orbit after what service officials deemed a highly successful first flight that concluded recently.
Richard McKinney, the Air Force undersecretary for space programs, told reporters at the Pentagon that the first X-37 B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) spent 244 days, nine hours and 24 minutes in space before landing at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Dec. 3. McKinney said the new spacecraft, which has been the subject of much speculation, is designed to be a test bed for experiments that can be returned to Earth so that researchers can reexamine them.
“It’s a pure and simple test vehicle,” McKinney said.
He noted that the military has to date only been able to conduct such space experiments on NASA’s space shuttle.
The X-37 resembles the shuttle but is much smaller. According to the Air Force, two X-37s would fit into the shuttle’s bay. Unlike the shuttle, however, the unmanned X-plane is designed to remain on orbit for approximately nine months.
While funding details for the project are classified according to McKinney, he said the Air Force has ordered a second spacecraft from prime contractor Boeing [BA] and has plans to launch it in the spring.
While on orbit and preparing for its return last week, the spacecraft first brought its solar array inside its cargo bay. The vehicle then was given a command to land on Dec. 3 and did so autonomously, McKinney explained. He said a left tire blew out on the landing strip but that the spacecraft still landed safely.
McKinney also said the vehicle carried a classified payload.
The Air Force is now reviewing data from the first flight. Lessons learned will be used for mission planning for OTV-2. The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, which manages the program, said in a statement that OTV-1’s “de-orbit and landing mark the transition from the on-orbit demonstration phase to a refurbishment phase.”
According to Lt. Col. Troy Giese, the X-37B program manager, the OTV-1 mission completed “all on-orbit objectives for the first mission.”
The vehicle was operated by Air Force Space Command’s 3rd Space Experimentation Squadron based at Schriever AFB, Colo.
Originally built for a NASA program, the X-37B was taken over by the Air Force. The Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency have participated in the Air Force development.