Tag: X-37B
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ULA Atlas V conducts X-37B spaceplane launch
The US Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane began its fourth mission Wednesday, lifting off atop United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket to begin a classified mission for Air Force Space Command. The Atlas departed from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11:05 Eastern, the opening opportunity provided by two short launch windows on Wednesday. Atlas V AFSPC-5…
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Preview: X-37B spaceplane to journey back into space Wednesday
CAPE CANAVERAL — An experiment-carrying, reusable mini space shuttle operated by the U.S. Air Force will be boosted into Earth orbit Wednesday atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. It will be the fourth flight of the military’s X-37B program, also known as Orbital Test Vehicle mission No. 4. The project is run inside…
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Atlas 5 slips at payload’s request
The last X-37B launch in 2012. Credit: ULA CAPE CANAVERAL — The next Atlas 5 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral will be delayed two weeks to resolve an undisclosed issue with the payload, United Launch Alliance officials announced Friday. Liftoff is retargeted for no earlier than May 20 from Complex 41. The launch has been…
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U.S. military’s X-37B space plane lands in California
The U.S. Air Force’s X-37B space plane touches down at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Credit: Boeing The U.S. Air Force’s X-37B space plane concluded its third mission Friday, streaking through the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean and gliding to an automated landing on a runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., after spending a…
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X-37B space plane scheduled to return to Earth soon
Artist’s concept of an X-37B spacecraft in orbit. Credit: Boeing A robotic U.S. Air Force space plane is set to land in California as soon as this week after a secretive 22-month flight hundreds of miles above Earth. Built by Boeing Co., the X-37B space plane will touch down on a runway at Vandenberg Air…
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X-37B space planes to move into shuttle hangars
An X-37B space plane sits on a runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., after landing on its second mission in June 2012. Credit: Boeing Boeing engineers are outfitting two decommissioned space shuttle hangars at the Kennedy Space Center for the U.S. Air Force’s secretive X-37B space plane, NASA announced Wednesday. The announcement in a…
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The X-37B: Exploring expanded capabilities for ISS missions
As NASA and its new commercial partners continue to push toward the era of realized commercial crew transportation to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Boeing has released a paper detailing the potentiality of expanding the capabilities of the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B reusable space plane for cargo and crewed missions to LEO – a proposal, which…
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Facilitating the commercial crew era for Kennedy’s OPFs
As the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) continues its transformation into a multi-user spaceport, the three buildings dedicated to processing the since-retired Space Shuttle orbiters are aiming to once again host engineers busily tending to their spacecraft. However, only one of the buildings has confirmed a tenant for the new era at this time. OPF Transition:…
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Atlas V launches second X-37B OTV test flight mission
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) have launched their Atlas V 501 carrying the X-37B OTV-2 spacecraft on Saturday, the second attempt following Friday’s scrub due to unacceptable weather at Cape Canaveral. The launch came at the start of the second available launch window, which opened at 5:46pm, due to work to to replace a valve on…
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X-37B lands successfully following 220 days in space
The US Air Force’s X-37B has successfully returned back to Earth on Friday morning, landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 9:16am GMT. Also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (OTV-1), its maiden voyage involved 220 days on orbit, conducting experiments and testing its systems, before carrying out the first autonomous re-entry…