USAF X37B

Boeing-built robotic shuttle set for launch April 19

For those who missed it, The Associated Press reported Sunday that the Air Force plans to launch its Boeing-built unmanned X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle April 19, after a decade of development.
The X-37B is similar to the space shuttle, although it's about one-quarter the size, according to a 2006 Air Force article. It's intended to allow government scientists to test advanced technology in orbit, according to that article.
The AP reported that the craft weighs 11,000 pounds; is 9 1/2 feet tall and just over 29 feet long, with a wingspan of less than 15 feet; will be launched atop an Atlas V rocket; and can stay in orbit for 270 days. Still unclear is whether and when there might be another flight, or another X-37B, The AP said.

11/17/2006 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The Air Force is working on a space vehicle that will allow government scientists to transport advanced technology into orbit, test its capability there, then bring it home to see how it fared in the harsh environment of space.

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is similar to the space shuttle, except it's about a fourth the size and unmanned. The OTV can return from space on its own, said Lt. Col. Kevin Walker, an Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office program manager.

"All you do from the ground is send up the command for it to de-orbit, then stand back and it de-orbits itself," he said. "The OTV gets itself ready for re-entry, descends through the atmosphere, lines up on the runway, puts down its landing gear ... and it does it all on its own."

The vehicle will land at either Vandenberg or Edwards Air Force bases in California.

The OTV will serve as a test platform for satellites and other space technologies. The vehicle allows satellite sensors, subsystems, components and associated technology to be transported into the environment where they will be used -- space.

Scientists will prepare components in the OTV's experiment bay, and then the craft is launched into space aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle. Once in space, the OTV begins testing its payload. Colonel Walker said the doors aboard the craft could simply open, exposing the experiment bay, or mission scientists could design more elaborate experiments.

"You could design something to extend itself out of the experiment bay, or have it on a retractable arm, or it could just stay inside the bay," Colonel Walker said. "The OTV is a very flexible space test platform for any number of various experiments."

Being able to test parts in their actual operational environment will allow scientists to better judge how those parts will perform when deployed, so fewer redundancies may occur in future satellites.

"Rather than build unproven components into a high-cost satellite, with multiple layers of redundancy to make sure they work -- you can use the OTV to get those components into space to see how they respond to the environment, and make sure they work the way they were designed," Colonel Walker said. "When the OTV returns to Earth, you can inspect the tested component and use that information to potentially alter your design."

The Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office has been tasked with acquiring, testing and demonstrating the OTV. Colonel Walker said much of the X-37B system vehicle is now being built and will soon move into a testing phase.

"We are getting into the subsystem and systems-wide testing, which will go on for about the next year," he said. "We are projecting our first launch for the beginning of 2008."

After a few flight tests in space, the OTV should be ready to begin experimentation in orbit, Colonel Walker said.

"The first flight or two will be to check out the OTV itself to make sure it works the way it is designed to," he said. "After that, you get into the realm of using it as a reusable space test platform -- putting space components into its experimental bay and taking them to space for testing."

Though the OTV is designed to provide a testing platform for new space technologies, it is made up of several advanced, untested technologies itself.

Randy Walden, RCO deputy and technical director, said there are a number of cutting-edge technologies on the OTV besides the auto de-orbit capability. It has new thermal protection tiles underneath and high-temperature components and seals throughout that need to be proven in orbit.

"There will be a great deal of extremely useful data coming from the OTV on its first flights,' said Mr. Walden. "Our plan is to share this data with other government agencies such as NASA."

The X-37 program, originally a NASA initiative, was transferred to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 2004. The Air Force's X-37B program builds upon the early development and testing conducted by NASA, DARPA and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

"We are honored to be developing this unique space platform," said David Hamilton, Jr., RCO director, "and very excited about the potential benefits to future space programs."

Air Force to launch robotic winged space plane

By JOHN ANTCZAK
LOS ANGELES — After a decade of development, the Air Force this month plans to launch a robotic spacecraft resembling a small space shuttle to conduct technology tests in orbit and then glide home to a California runway.
The ultimate purpose of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and details about the craft, which has been passed between several government agencies, however, remain a mystery as it is prepared for launch April 19 from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
"As long as you're confused you're in good shape," said defense analyst John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org. "I looked into this a couple of years ago — the entire sort of hypersonic, suborbital, scramjet nest of programs — of which there are upwards of a dozen. The more I studied it the less I understood it."
The quietly scheduled launch culminates the project's long and expensive journey from NASA to the Pentagon's research and development arm and then to a secretive Air Force unit.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on the X-37 program, but the current total has not been released.
The launch date, landing sites and a fact sheet were released by Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Angie I. Blair. She said more information would be released soon, but questions on cost and other matters submitted by e-mail weren't answered by Friday.
While the massive space shuttles have been likened to cargo-hauling trucks, the X-37B is more like a sports car, with the equivalent trunk capacity.
Built by Boeing Co.'s Phantom Works, the 11,000-pound craft is 9 1/2 feet tall and just over 29 feet long, with a wingspan of less than 15 feet. It has two angled tail fins rather than a single vertical stabilizer.
Unlike the shuttle, it will be launched like a satellite, housed in a fairing atop an expendable Atlas V rocket, and deploy solar panels to provide electrical power in orbit.
The Air Force released only a general description of the mission objectives: testing of guidance, navigation, control, thermal protection and autonomous operation in orbit, re-entry and landing.
The mission's length was not released but the Air Force said the X-37B can stay in orbit for 270 days. The primary landing site will be northwest of Los Angeles at coastal Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The significance of the X-37B is unclear because the program has been around for so long, said Peter A. Wilson, a senior defense research analyst for the RAND Corp. who several years ago served as executive director of a congressional panel that evaluated national security space launch requirements.
"From my perspective it's a little puzzling as to whether this is the beginning of a program or the end of one," Wilson said Friday in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C.
As NASA anticipated the end of the shuttle, the X-37B was viewed as a working prototype of the next-generation design of a fully reusable spacecraft, but the space agency lost interest and the Air Force picked it up, Wilson said.
"It's viewed as a prototype of a vehicle that could carry small payloads into orbit, carry out a variety of military missions and then return to Earth," he said.
The Air Force statement said the X-37 program is being used "to continue full-scale development" and orbital testing of a long-duration, reusable space vehicle.
Wilson sees the upcoming launch as "a one-shot deal."
He acknowledged that he does not know if there is a classified portion of the program but said there is no evidence of a second vehicle being built to follow the prototype. In aerospace, a prototype typically remains a test vehicle used to prove and improve designs for successive operational vehicles.
To fully function as a completely reusable launch system there would also have to be development of a booster rocket that is capable of landing itself back on Earth to be reassembled with the spacecraft, according to Wilson, who does not see any support for such an initiative.
Wilson also said the usefulness of payloads such as small military satellites is in question, which would undercut the need for the launch system.
The X-37B is now under the direction of the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office. Its mission is to speed up development of combat-support systems and weapons systems.
Operating since 2003, the office has worked on several things, including upgrading the air defenses around the nation's capital as an anti-terrorism measure and assessing threats to U.S. combat operations, according to an Air Force fact sheet.
NASA began the X-37 program in 1999 in a cooperative deal with Boeing to roughly split the $173 million cost of developing an experimental space plane. The Air Force put in a small share.
The X-37, initially intended to be carried into space by shuttles in 2003, was a larger version of the Air Force X-40A, a concept for a "Space Maneuver Vehicle" to put small military satellites in orbit. The X-40A was dropped from a helicopter in glide and landing tests but was never capable of actual space flight.
In 2002, NASA awarded Boeing a $301 million contract to complete a version of the X-37 to be used in approach and landing tests and begin designing an orbital version that would fly in 2006.
But in 2004 NASA turned the project over to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Defense Department's research and development arm. In 2006, the X-37 was put through captive-carry and drop tests using Mojave-based Scaled Composite LLC's White Knight, the jet that launched SpaceShipOne on the first private suborbital manned space flights.
The Air Force then began work on the X-37B, projecting it would fly in 2008. An Air Force News story at the time reported that the first one or two flights would check out the performance of the vehicle itself and then it would become a space test platform with unspecified components flown in its experiment bay.

Air Force prepping robot spacecraft for launch

The U.S. Air Force is preparing to launch a reusable robot spacecraft that will bring military capabilities into orbit, the result of a long development program that has seen few achievements so far.
Designed by NASA and Boeing, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle resembles a midget Space Shuttle or a Predator drone on steroids. Its purpose is classified, but the launch slated for April 19 is intended to demonstrate its ability to perform tasks in low Earth orbit before autonomously landing on a runway in California, according to an Associated Press report.
Weighing 11,000 pounds, the X-37B is about 30 feet long with a wingspan less than 15 feet. It will be launched from Cape Canaveral atop an Atlas V rocket and deploy solar panels to generate electricity in orbit, where it can remain for up to 270 days.
It can operate autonomously in orbit, as well as on re-entry and landing. Its weapons capabilities, if any, aren't clear. One defense analyst quoted by AP said the X-37B is seen as a vehicle that can carry payloads into orbit in its cargo bay, perform military missions, and return to Earth, though further development of the prototype is uncertain.
Development of the craft has been under the direction of a variety of bureaucracies, including NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), consuming hundreds of millions of dollars. Observers will be watching to see whether the April 19 launch will reveal more secrets about this mysterious robot plane.

U.S. Air Force X-37B Launched

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 booster lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Complex 41 on Thursday evening, sending the X-37B experimental space vehicle on its first test flight.
Started by NASA in the late 1990s, the X-37 program was adopted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and later transferred to the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, culminating in its launch at 7:52 p.m. EDT.
“After a tumultuous history of sponsorship, it’s great to see the X-37 finally get to the launch pad and get into space,” Gary Payton, undersecretary of the Air Force for Space Programs, told reporters in a conference call before liftoff.
The 11,000-lb. X-37B was launched aboard an Atlas V 501, which can carry 21,600 pounds to low Earth orbit. It successfully separated from the Centaur upper stage 20 minutes after launch. The X-37B payload, experiments and planned orbital operations are classified.
“We’ll have a set of test objectives for the on-orbit activities,” Payton said. “The top priority technology demonstration is, on this first flight, the vehicle itself … proving that the vehicle can get up in space, do a job, get back down.
“Then, probably the most important demonstration is again on the ground,” he added. “Once we get the bird back, see what it really takes to turn this bird around and get it ready to go fly again.”
The goal of the program is trim turnaround time between space flights from months to days, at a fraction of the cost of preparing space shuttles for flight.
“The top priority is an inexpensive turnaround,” Payton said. “Can we do these new technologies, perform properly on orbit, and get the bird back on the ground? Do we have to do a lot of tile replacement, like we had to early in the shuttle era? Do we have to do a lot of servicing? If that’s the case it makes this sort of vehicle less attractive to us in the future.”
Built by Boeing Phantom Works, the X-37B is 9 ft., 6 in. (2.9 meters) in height, 29 ft., 3 in. (8.9 meters) in length and has a wingspan of 14 ft., 11 in. (4.5 meters).
Rather than hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells like the space shuttle orbiters, the X-37B is powered by gallium arsenide solar cells with lithium-ion batteries. It is designed to stay in orbit for up to 270 days, deorbit itself and land autonomously on a runway.
“In all honesty, we don’t know when it’s coming back for sure,” Payton said. “It depends on the progress that we make with the on-orbit experiments, the on-orbit demonstrations.”
Landing is expected at Vandenberg AFB in California, with Edwards AFB available as the backup site. Depending on the results of X-37B’s orbital debut, the Air Force could be ready to fly a second vehicle in 2011, Payton said (Aerospace DAILY, April 21).
“We chose this basic design back in the late ‘90s because it shares pretty much the same outer mold line as the space shuttle, and a lot of the subsonic, supersonic, and hypersonic environments we could trace right from the shuttle to this design. So it’s easy to rely on the shuttle’s aerodynamic knowledge base for this particular design,” Payton said. “The piece-part technologies, subsystem technologies, could be applied to any number of future systems.”

Unmanned Boeing space vehicle returns to earth

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The Boeing-built X-37B unmanned space vehicle completed its first flight Friday, landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, after a 220-mission for the U.S. Air Force.
The X-37B is the United States' first unmanned vehicle to return from space and land on its own and the only space vehicle other than the space shuttle that is capable of returning to earth, Boeing said. It said the mission shows that unmanned space vehicles can be sent into orbit and safely recovered.
"This marks a new era in space exploration, and we look forward to the launch of the second vehicle in 2011," Paul Rusnock, Boeing vice president of Experimental Systems and program director for the X-37B, said in a news release. "By combining the best of aircraft and spacecraft into an affordable, responsive unmanned vehicle, Boeing has delivered an unprecedented capability to the (U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office)."
The X-37B has been in development for about a decade, involving the Air Force, NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It is intended to allow government scientists to test advanced technology in orbit, according to a 2006 Air Force article.
It is similar to the space shuttle, although it's about one-quarter the s

Second Boeing-built unmanned space plane set to launch Friday

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The Air Force is scheduled to launch its second Boeing-built X-37B unmanned space shuttle Friday.
The X-37B is the first U.S. unmanned vehicle to return from space and land on its own and the only space vehicle other than the space shuttle that is capable of returning to earth for reuse. The first X-37B completed its first mission in December, landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, after 220 days in space.
The X-37B has been in development for about a decade, involving the Air Force, NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. A 2006 Air Force article said the vehicle is intended to allow government scientists to test advanced technology in orbit, but the Air Force has since been silent on its purpose.
The nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists argued Tuesday that the vehicle has no real use.
“Because of its weight and relative lack of maneuverability, the space plane is not well-suited for a number of missions,” Laura Grego, a senior scientist with the group’s Global Security Program said in a news release. “For example, it would have a harder time carrying payloads into orbit, maneuvering in space, rendezvousing with satellites, and releasing multiple payloads. Yes, the space plane may offer more flexibility and is potentially reusable, but that comes at a very high price compared with the alternatives. We have not seen an analysis that shows why it is worth that high price.”
The space plane does not make sense as a space weapon or for deploying space weapons, Grego added, refuting some darker suspicions about the vehicle

Second X-37B Set To Launch March 4

Three months after the military’s experimental Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) returned from a debut spaceflight that spanned 224 days, its sister ship is being prepared for liftoff March 4 on a follow-on mission.
Like its predecessor, OTV-2 will launch aboard an Atlas 5 booster from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The two-hour launch window opens at 3:39 p.m. EST.
Exactly what the vehicle, also known as X-37B, will do in space is classified, as are any cargo or payloads that may be aboard. The two spacecraft, built by Boeing Phantom Works, resemble diminutive space shuttles. They are intended to test technologies and processes for low-cost, quick-turnaround, reusable space vehicles, as well as serve as orbital testbeds for instruments that could be incorporated into future satellites.
“Once placed in an operational status, the X-37B could have applications to support missions such as technology maturation/validation; space situational awareness; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; on-orbit servicing and repair; satellite deployment and/or retrieval; or orbital debris mitigation,” the Air Force writes in an email to Aviation Week.
The winged vehicles, which are 29 ft. long and 12 ft. wide, are designed to remain in orbit for up to 270 days. OTV-1 returned from flight in good condition, paving the way for launch of OTV-2 with few modifications (Aerospace DAILY, Dec. 6, 2010). A more detailed inspection and analysis of OTV-1 will be undertaken as part of its refurbishment.
OTV-1 has not yet been scheduled for a second launch, but the Air Force anticipates it will return to orbit in the future.
“Because of the short timeframe between the OTV-1 landing in December and the launch of OTV-2 in March, focus was turned to getting OTV-2 ready for launch after the quick-look assessment of OTV-1’s re-entry and landing data and exterior inspection,” the Air Force says. “We will do a more detailed assessment after [the] OTV-2 launch to prove the objectives for a quick, low-cost turn-around.
“OTV-2 builds upon the OTV-1 on-orbit demonstration and expands the test envelop of the X-37B,” the Air Force adds. “This second test mission furthers the development of the concept of operations for and fine-tunes technical parameters of an affordable, reusable space vehicle.” That includes keeping OTV-2 in space longer than OTV-1.
Still, not everyone is a fan of the OTVs. “Because of its weight and relative lack of maneuverability, the space plane is not well-suited for a number of missions,” said Laura Grego of the Union of Concerned Scientists. For instance, due to extra structure to withstand repeated re-entries, the vehicle ostensibly would have a harder time carrying payloads to orbit, let alone maneuvering in space, rendezvousing with satellites, and releasing multiple payloads, she said March 2. “Yes, the space plane may offer more flexibility and is potentially reusable, but that comes at a very high price compared with the alternatives. We have not seen an analysis that shows why it is worth that high price.”
Officials have said no significant changes were made to OTV-2 as a result of the OTV-1 flight. Minor tweaks include a reduction in the vehicle’s main landing gear tire pressure by about 15% to help avoid repeating the blown tire that OTV-1 experienced upon landing at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Dec. 3. The reduced pressure should better accommodate imperfections in Vandenberg’s 15,000-ft.-long runway, the Air Force says.
“Also, based on the demonstrated ability of the electromechanical flight control and autonomous landing algorithms, we’ll place less restrictions on the cross-range and wind conditions required for landing,” the Air Force says.
The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office manages the X-37B program.

Boeing fait décoller un 2e vaisseau spatial militaire sans équipage

Le constructeur aéronautique américain Boeing a annoncé dans un communiqué reçu tard samedi le lancement d'un second vaisseau spatial sans équipage X-37B pour l'armée de l'air.
Boeing "annonce le lancement réussi du deuxième véhicule de test orbital (OTV)" pour le Bureau des capacités rapides de l'armée de l'air américaine".
Le lancement a eu lieu à Cap Canaveral.
"Ce fut un moment historique en décembre quand le X-37B est devenu le premier véhicule sans équipage à revenir de l'espace et à atterrir seul", et aujourd'hui, nous avons fait un autre pas important" a commenté Craig Cooning, vice-président de Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems.
Le premier OTV avait été lancé en avril pour une durée d'environ huit mois et avait atterri à la base Vandenberg de l'armée de l'air en décembre.

Second X-37B mission reaches orbit

The second Boeing X-37B orbital test vehicle (OTV-2) launched into space on 5 March, riding atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from space launch complex-41 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The flight is a follow-up to the 270-day mission of the OTV-1 that ended on 3 December, with the spacecraft de-orbiting and landing at Vandenberg AFB, California.
US Air Force officials have declined to answer questions about whether any payloads have intended to be tested or deployed with either OTV-1 or OTV-2.

Instead, the USAF has confirmed both spacecraft are being used to understand the flight characteristics of the X-37B. A statement released after the launch of OTV-2 adds the spacecraft will be tested for landing in higher winds after it de-orbits in several months.
"We'll also be looking at the performance of its advanced thermal protection systems and tiles, solar power systems and environmental modelling," LtCol Troy Giese, X-37B program manager, says in a statement.

X-37B launches come under the rapid capabilities office, and are officially described as aimed at demonstrating a reusable, unmanned testbed for orbital missions.

The latest mission will enable enable the capabilities office to "further experiment with the vehicle and its ability to operate in low-Earth orbit," says Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing space and intelligence systems.
The latest mission involved launching from the Atlas 501 rocket configuration, which includes a 5.1m-diameter payload fairing. The RD AMROSS RD-180 engine served as the booster, with the Centaur upper stage bowered by the Pratt & Whitney RL-10A engine.