X-37B

Active Cargo Spaceplane Payload Capacity: 227 kg Diameter: 4.55 m Height: 8.92 m

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April 22, 2010

It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United States Space Force for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies.

Flight Life

Multiple years in orbit

Description

The Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a reusable robotic spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United States Space Force for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies. It is a 120-percent-scaled derivative of the earlier Boeing X-40. The X-37 began as a NASA project in 1999, before being transferred to the United States Department of Defense in 2004. Until 2019, the program was managed by Air Force Space Command.

History

In 1999, NASA selected Boeing Integrated Defense Systems to design and develop an orbital vehicle, built by the California branch of Boeing's Phantom Works. Over a four-year period, a total of US$192 million was spent on the project, with NASA contributing US$109 million, the U.S. Air Force US$16 million, and Boeing US$67 million. In late 2002, a new US$301 million contract was awarded to Boeing as part of NASA's Space Launch Initiative framework. The X-37 was transferred from NASA to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on 13 September 2004. Thereafter, the program became a classified project. DARPA promoted the X-37 as part of the independent space policy that the United States Department of Defense has pursued since the 1986 Challenger disaster.



Kinetica 1
Success
1 hour, 49 minutes ago
6 satellites
Launch Area 130 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Carried 6 satellites to Sun-synchronous orbit, including commercial Earth observation satellites Taijing-3-04 & Taijing-4-02A: * Taijing-3-04 * T…


Falcon 9
Success
2 hours, 35 minutes ago
Starlink Group 12-15
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 7A
Success
18 hours, 4 minutes ago
ChinaSat 3B
201 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

Chinese communication geostationary satellite for unknown purposes.


Ceres-1S
Success
1 day, 22 hours ago
Tianqi 16-18 & 20
Oriental Spaceport mobile launch ship - Sea Launch

4 small satellites for LEO Internet of Things (IoT) communication purposes.


PSLV-XL
Failure
3 days, 5 hours ago
EOS-09 (RISAT-1B)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre First Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

RISAT-1B is the third in the series of radar imaging RISAT-1 satellites of ISRO using an active C-band SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar), providing all-…


Electron
Success
3 days, 21 hours ago
The Sea God Sees (iQPS Launch 2)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.


Zhuque-2E
Success
4 days, 1 hour ago
6 satellites
Launch Area 96 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

6 satellites from satellite manufacturer SpaceTY, including 3 multi-spectral Earth observation satellites and 3 technology demonstration satellites f…


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 16 hours ago
Starlink Group 15-5
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 26 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 13 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-67
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2D
Success
1 week ago
Space Computing Constellation
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

12 satellites from ADASPACE testing in-orbit data processing capabilities for other satellites with artificial intelligence assistance, as well as in…