Air Force’s X-37B robotic space aircraft wings previous 500 days in Earth orbit

That enigmatic U.S. militia X-37B robotic space drone has now chalked up bigger than 500 days circling the Earth.

The Orbital Test Automobile (OTV-6) is additionally known as USSF-7 for the U.S. Map Force and launched Would maybe honest 17, 2020, on an Atlas V 501 booster.

OTV-6 is the precious to make spend of a carrier module to host experiments. The carrier module is an attachment to the aft of the automobile that allows additional experimental payload functionality to be carried to orbit.

Connected: The US Map Force’s secretive X-37B space aircraft: 10 surprising info

Major agenda: labeled

Whereas the Boeing-built robotic space aircraft’s on-orbit valuable agenda is labeled, some of its onboard experiments had been identified pre-start.

One experiment onboard the distance aircraft is from the U.S. Naval Compare Laboratory (NRL), an investigation into reworking solar energy into radio frequency microwave vitality. The experiment itself is is named the Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module, PRAM for short.

Alongside with toting NRL’s PRAM into Earth orbit, the X-37B additionally deployed the FalconSat-8, a tiny satellite developed by the U.S. Air Force Academy and backed by the Air Force Compare Laboratory to habits lots of experiments on orbit.

As properly as, two NASA experiments are additionally onboard the distance aircraft to seem the outcomes of the distance surroundings on a materials sample plate and seeds favorite to grow food.

Previous flights

OTV-1: launched on April 22, 2010 and landed on Dec. 3, 2010, spending over 224 days on orbit.

OTV-2: launched on March 5, 2011 and landed on June 16, 2012, spending over 468 days on orbit.

OTV-3: launched on Dec. 11, 2012 and landed on Oct. 17, 2014, spending over 674 days on-orbit.

OTV-4: launched on Would maybe honest 20, 2015 and landed on Would maybe honest 7, 2015, spending almost about 718 days on-orbit.

OTV-5: launched on Sept. 7, 2017 and landed on Oct. 27, 2019, spending almost about 780 days on-orbit.

OTV-1, OTV-2, and OTV-3 missions landed at Vandenberg Air Force Snide, California, whereas the OTV-4 and OTV-5 missions landed at Kennedy Map Heart, Florida.

There is no longer any word on when and the place OTV-6 will return to Earth.

In step with a Boeing reality sheet, “the X-37B is one of the most field’s most up-to-date and most superior re-entry spacecraft, designed to characteristic in low-earth orbit, 150 to 500 miles above the Earth. The auto is the precious for the rationale that space shuttle with the capability to return experiments to Earth for additional inspection and diagnosis. This United States Air Force unmanned space car explores reusable car applied sciences that give a enhance to lengthy-time period space dreams.”

Delta 9

The X-37B program is flown under the cruise of a U.S. Map Force unit known as Delta 9, established and activated July 24, 2020.

“Delta 9 Detachment 1 oversees operations of the X-37B Orbital Test Automobile, an experimental program designed to show applied sciences for a official, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Map Force,” in step with a reality sheet issued by Schriever Air Force Snide in Colorado.

“The mission of Delta 9 is to prepare, contemporary, and challenge assigned and attached forces for the rationale of conducting defend and defend operations and offering nationwide resolution authorities with response alternatives to discourage and, when needed, defeat orbital threats,” the reality sheet explains. “Furthermore, Delta 9 supports Map Enviornment Consciousness by conducting space-primarily primarily based battlespace characterization operations and additionally conducts on-orbit experimentation and technology demonstrations for the U.S. Map Force.”

Leonard David is creator of the e book “Moon Flee: The Contemporary Map Flee,” printed by Nationwide Geographic in Would maybe honest 2019. A longtime author for Map.com, David has been reporting on the distance enterprise for bigger than 5 decades. Apply us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. This model of the story was once printed on Map.com.