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Secret US spaceplane returns to Earth after record flight

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OTV-4 landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after spending 718 days in orbit
US Air Force
OTV-4 landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after spending 718 days in orbit
US Air Force
The mini-shuttle was tasked with testing the Aerojet Rocketdyne XR-5A Hall-effect thruster as part of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite program, as well as carrying out prolonged material tests for NASA
US Air Force

The US Air Force's not-so-secret secret spaceplane, the X-37B, set a new orbital endurance record for a reusable unmanned spacecraft as it set down today at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Orbital Test Vehicle mission 4 (OTV-4) came to an end at about 8:00 AM EDT as the aircraft made an autonomous touchdown on the runway of the Shuttle Landing Facility after spending 718 days in orbit.

The X-37B is used by the Air Force for studies in spaceflight risk reduction, orbital experiments, and operations development for reusable space vehicles.

The fourth of the X-37B missions, OTV-4 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on May 20, 2015 atop an Atlas V rocket. The mini-shuttle was tasked with testing the Aerojet Rocketdyne XR-5A Hall-effect thruster as part of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite program, as well as carrying out prolonged material tests for NASA.

Today's landing after 718 days brings the total for OTV missions to 2,085 flight-days. The previous record was set by OTV-3. This was the first X-37B landing in Florida.

The mini-shuttle was tasked with testing the Aerojet Rocketdyne XR-5A Hall-effect thruster as part of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite program, as well as carrying out prolonged material tests for NASA
US Air Force

"The hard work of the X-37B OTV team and the 45th Space Wing successfully demonstrated the flexibility and resolve necessary to continue the nation's advancement in space," says Randy Walden, the director of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. "The ability to land, refurbish, and launch from the same location further enhances the OTV's ability to rapidly integrate and qualify new space technologies."

The Air Force says a fifth OTV mission will launch from Cape Canaveral later this year.

Source: US Air Force

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7 comments
exodous
I can beat it, a few red bulls, a few bags of potato chips, maybe some pizza and I'll smash that record.
Oh, and I guess I need to learn to fly.
Doug Elliot
What amazes me is how the nose of the craft shows no signs of burning during re-entry.
JimFox
exodous- Oh, how clever! How hilarious! Twat...
Lee Bell
What I want to know is why are all the people around it in completely contained hazmat suits.... What the heck does it have on board that would require that?
CharlieSeattle
But did the US AFSC check and all Russian, Chinese and North Korean satellites for a nuke EMP device and tag all their communications satellites with a remote control blinding device?
If not, it was a wasted mission!
JasonStanton
Whatever happened to the concept of secret? And I suppose if they did do any secret work while in space they probably wouldn't tell anybody.
Jose Gros-Aymerich
Nice machine, the X-37!. Perhaps it could be built in Concrete, as Karlsruhe Tech in Germany, Albert Einstein School, Ettlingen, made a 4 mm wall thickness reinforced concrete tiny car (The Indian Concrete Journal, Oct 2004, pp 43-44). This would eliminate the need for heat-resistant tiles, concrete resists fire, Heat Pipes can be placed inside concrete walls to evacuate heat, thus making a very cheap Spaceship; for sending up and away cameras and another military equipment, airtightness should not need being very strict.