While every mission SpaceX performs is covered in fine detail and we all await the next news surrounding Virgin Galactic's attempts to commercialize space flight, the US Air Force is busy quietly flying an experimental space plane around the Earth.
We were reminded of that on Sunday when the unmanned X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. What's more impressive than the US military having a functioning space plane, is the fact the X-37B managed to orbit Earth for two years without issue as far as we know.
X-37B program manager Lt. Col. Ron Fehlen commented, "This mission once again set an on-orbit endurance record and marks the vehicle's first landing in the state of Florida. We are incredibly pleased with the performance of the space vehicle and are excited about the data gathered to support the scientific and space communities."
The X-37 spacecraft began as a NASA project back in 1999 before being transferred to the US Department of Defense in 2004. The first launch occurred in 2010, the second in 2011, the third in 2012, and then this latest mission, OTV-4, launched aboard an Atlas V rocket in May 2015 and now stands as the longest flight yet for the experimental plane.
Just about everything related to the X-37B is classified. It's a project with an unknown budget for a spacecraft built by Boeing. It was initially funded through a collaboration between NASA, Boeing, and the US Air Force totaling $192 million before a further $301 million contract was awarded to Boeing by NASA in 2002. Clearly a lot more has been spent over the last 15 years to continue development.
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According to Reuters, while the X-37B was in orbit over 700 experiments were carried out. We don't know what any of them were, how much the mission cost, or what technology is hidden away inside the space plane's shell, which measures 29-feet long and has a wingspan of 15-feet.
The next mission for the X-37B is already being planned. It will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, "later in 2017." Is that going to extend the endurance record yet further?
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