|
Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 1
|
Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a reusable unmanned spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United States Air Force for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies.
OTV-1, the first X-37B, launched on its first mission -USA 212- on an Atlas V rocket on 22 Apr 2010. The spacecraft was placed into low Earth orbit for testing.
The USAF announced on 30 Nov 2010 that OTV-1 would return for a landing during the 3-6 Dec timeframe. As scheduled, OTV-1 de-orbited, reentered Earth's atmosphere, and landed successfully at Vandenberg AFB on 3 Dec 2010, at 09:16 UTC, conducting America's first autonomous orbital landing onto a runway. In all, OTV-1 spent 224 days in space.
|
|