An unmanned U.S. military mini-shuttle launched from Cape Canaveral in April coasted to an automated touchdown this morning in California.The first X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, or OTV-1, landed at 4:16 a.m. EST (1:16 a.m. Pacific) at Vandenberg Air Force Base, concluding a more than 220-day classified mission.
It was the first U.S. unmanned vehicle to return from space and land on its own.
"We are very pleased that the program completed all the on-orbit objectives for the first mission," Lt. Col. Troy Giese, X-37B program manager from the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, said in a statement.
"This marks a new era in space exploration," added Paul Rusnock, vice president of experimental systems and X-37B program director for The Boeing Co., the spacecraft's prime contractor.
The main objective of the X-37’s first flight was to demonstrate orbital operations: swinging its payload bay doors open, deploying its solar-power mast, testing maneuvering and control systems and then reentering the atmosphere and landing.
Another critical objective: seeing how much work is required to ready the 29-foot spacecraft for another flight after today's landing.
The program performs risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies, according to the Air Force.
The winged, shuttle-like spacecraft launched April 22 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The next X-37B, OTV-2, could be launched next spring atop an Atlas V. Click here for a fact sheet on the spacecraft.
Check out video of the spacecraft on the runway HERE
IMAGE: The X-37B sits on the Vandenberg Air Force base runway during post-landing operations Dec. 3. The X-37B, named Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (OTV-1), conducted on-orbit experiments for more than 220 days during its maiden voyage. It fired its orbital maneuver engine in low-earth orbit to perform an autonomous reentry before landing. Credit: Air Force Space Command
3 comments:
Talk about a black mission, complete with landing in the dark!
The ultimate assassin.
Bin Laden better dig deeper.
Technological superiority is excellent now all we need is some willingness to use our superiority to defeat the nabobs who veiw us once again as a paper tiger!
Post a Comment