The mysterious reusable space plane, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), has landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after orbiting Earth for 908 days.
The roughly two-and-a-half-year journey broke the previous spaceplane record of 780 days. Which means it has traveled more than 1.3 billion kilometers and spent 3,774 days in space. The Boeing-made spaceplane landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida at 5:22 a.m. on November 12, 2022.
Experiments on materials and technological innovation
It was its sixth mission, since the first launch of the X-37B in 2010. All missions were launched from the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida. The spaceplane is the result of a partnership between the Air Department’s Office of Rapid Capabilities and the US Space Force. It is based on NASA’s X-37 program, which began in 1999 before being handed over to DARPA in 2004.
This mission launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in May 2020.
Although the US Space Force didn’t reveal much about its past payloads, it did reveal that it carried a FalconSat-9, still in orbit today, which allows Academy cadets to have practical experience before entering active service.
The missions also carried a service module – a ring attached to the rear of the vehicle that allows other experiments to be carried out. The module will be disposed of in the coming weeks “in accordance with best practices,” according to the Space Force.
Evaluate materials to improve ground simulations
Among the experiments hosted on this sixth mission was the Naval Research Laboratory’s Radio-Frequency Photovoltaic Antenna Module, which harnesses solar radiation outside the Earth’s atmosphere and aims to transmit energy to the ground in the form of micro- radio frequency waves.
The US Air Force Academy’s FalconSat-8 was developed in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory. It was deployed in October 2021.
NASA’s experiments on this mission focused on materials exposure and technological innovation in space, including thermal control coatings, printed electronic materials, and candidate radiation shielding materials.
NASA scientists will evaluate the materials after spending more than 900 days in orbit. They will also compare observed effects to ground simulations, validating and improving the accuracy of space environment models, according to the US Space Force.
Preparing for future interplanetary missions
NASA also used this mission to explore the effect of space exposure on seeds over a long period of time. Scientists want to know how resilient and vulnerable seeds are to spatial stresses, including radiation. This will inform the production of space cultures for future interplanetary missions and the establishment of permanently manned bases in space.
“The X-37B continues to push the boundaries of experimentation, thanks to an elite team of government and industry representatives,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Fritschen, X-37B program director at the DAF Rapid Capabilities Office.
“The ability to conduct experiments in orbit and bring them safely home for in-depth analysis on the ground has proven invaluable to the Department of the Air Force and the scientific community. Adding the service module on OTV-6 has allowed us to accommodate more experiences than ever before. »
“Since its first launch in 2010, the X-37B has shattered records and provided our nation with unparalleled capability to rapidly test and integrate new space technologies,” said Jim Chilton, senior vice president of Boeing Space and Launch.
Source: ZDNet.com