US Air Force's X-37B spaceplane ends secret mission

US Air Force's X-37B spaceplane ends secret mission

By William Harwood, CBS News, 18 June, 2012
NEWSAn unmanned Air Force spaceplane dropped out of orbit and glided to a computer-controlled California landing early on Saturday to close out a classified 469-day military mission.
The reusable Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle touched down on a runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, at 5:48 am PDT (GMT-7). The US Air Force did not provide any advance warning of the re-entry and landing time and no technical details about the vehicle's performance were released.

But in a statement, the Air Force said the autonomous landing by the nation's "newest and most advanced re-entry spacecraft" was executed "safely and successfully".


"With the retirement of the space shuttle fleet, the X-37B OTV programme brings a singular capability to space technology development," Air Force Lt Col Tom McIntyre, X-37B programme manager, said in the statement. "The return capability allows the Air Force to test new technologies without the same risk commitment faced by other programmes. We're proud of the entire team's successful efforts to bring this mission to an outstanding conclusion."
The X-37B was launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket that took off on 5 March, 2011 from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It was the second flight for the Air Force Orbital Test Vehicle programme following a successful 224-day maiden voyage in 2010. The spacecraft used for that mission is expected to be relaunched in October.

As with the initial test flight, details about the programme's just-concluded second mission are classified.

Built by Boeing's Experimental Systems Group, the X-37B is equipped with twin tail fins, stubby wings and an advanced heat shield. It is about one-quarter the size of NASA's now-retired space shuttle, measuring 29 feet long. It has a wingspan of just 14 feet and weighs about 4.9 tonnes when loaded with propellants.