A Boeing X-37B orbital test vehicle will soon return from a secret mission in space, according to a statement from the U.S. Air Force. The vehicle is scheduled for a touchdown in California on October 14, following a mission lasting 22 months.
The X-37 is an automated space vehicle that has been in development since 1999.
"Designed to operate in low-earth orbit, 110 to 500 miles above the Earth at a nominal speed of about 17,500 miles per hour, the vehicle is the first since the Space Shuttle with the ability to return experiments to Earth for further inspection and analysis," Boeing managers reported on their Web site.
The latest test mission for the X-37B began with a launch in December 2012. If the space plane does return on October 14, the vehicle will have spent 671 days in orbit above the Earth.
"Team Vandenberg stands ready to implement safe landing operations for the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, the third time for this unique mission," Col. Keith Baits, 30th Space Wing commander at the aerospace facility, said.
The X-37B, otherwise known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, resembles a miniature version of the Space Shuttle. The space plane is only about one-quarter of the size of its predecessor, but utilizes a similar lifting body design to the decades-old shuttle design. However, that older vehicle was not capable of functioning without human occupation, nor could it stay in space for nearly as much time as the new space plane from Boeing.
Military officials report the 29-foot-long robotic spacecraft is designed to test new technologies, although details of the testing remain secret. The spacecraft first flew in April 2010, sent on a 10-month-long maiden voyage. All control surfaces aboard the X-37B operate through the use of electromagnetic actuators, as opposed to the mechanical controls on the shuttles.
The United States Air Force and NASA recently reached an agreement to move the X-37 program from California to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The new spacecraft could potentially utilize the runway once used by the now-retired space shuttles. However, this mission will land at Vandenburg Air Force base. This is the third test mission for the X-37B, and each of the first two missions also ended in California.
"Because the X-37B can be returned to Earth, reused, and is designed to be highly flexible and maneuverable, its contributions to space exploration will result in making space access more routine, affordable and responsive," Boeing officials report.
