The US Space Force's X-37B test vehicle looks like a miniature version of NASA's Space Shuttle. (Image credit: US Space Force) The US Space Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle returned to Earth after spending a record-breaking 908 days in orbit. The Boeing-built test vehicle touched down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5.22 AM ET (3.52 PM IST) on November 12.
The OTV-6 mission was launched by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in May 2020. Apart from carrying multiple NASA experiments on board, the OTV-6 mission also launched the FalconSat-8 satellite into orbit in October 2021.
The spacecraft resembles NASA’s Space Shuttle but it is actually much smaller than the reusable spacecraft that was retired by the space agency. The Space Shuttle was about 38 metres long whereas the X-37B is about 8.3 metres long. On its previous mission, it spent 780 days in space before it touched back down in 2019.
For OTV-6, the vehicle carried a service module to increase the number of payloads it can carry. This module separated from the test vehicle before it de-orbited to ensure a safe landing.
“The X-37B continues to push the boundaries of experimentation, enabled by an elite government and industry team behind the scenes. The ability to conduct on-orbit experiments and bring them home safely for in-depth analysis on the ground has proven valuable for the Department of the Air Force and scientific community. The addition of the service module on OTV-6 allowed us to host more experiments than ever before,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Fritschen, X-37B program director at the US Space Force, in a press statement.
Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space (METIS-2) was one of the many experiments on board. METIS-2 carried thermal control coatings, printed electronic materials and radiation shielding materials into space to evaluate the effects of space exposure on the materials.
Much of the information surrounding the mission and the X-37B vehicle are classified, including most of its payloads and details of its orbit. Space Force is very secretive about the flight and its missions and doesn’t reveal in advance when the mission is going to end.