That's what I like in those launches.Wow, that Atlas is a slow riser. Takes forever to clear the tower.
Wow, that Atlas is a slow riser. Takes forever to clear the tower. Great launch!
The second flight of the US Air Force's X-37B spaceplane has been underway for weeks. During this time, the USAF has been fairly quiet about its operations, but this hasn't stopped amateur satellite watchers from finding it. So far, there seem to be no big surprises. The vehicle is apparently intact and not doing anything too strange in its orbit.
We know the first mission was successful, and we can reasonably expect that the second spaceplane is working just as well. With one successful test flight, and a second test flight probably going as planned, speculation is turning to the future of the X-37B program.
It's been openly suggested that the first X-37B spaceplane, which stayed in orbit for most of 2010, will be launched again at some point in the future. This almost certainly won't happen until the mission of the second vehicle ends, which suggests that the next launch in the program won't take place for at least a year. Nobody knows how long this second flight will last, but it seems reasonable to expect that it will go for longer than the first.
Engineers may well choose to leave it in orbit for as long as a full calendar year. Then there will be a long period of analysis of the returned spacecraft, followed by some potential tweaking of the first vehicle.
{...}
After nearly seven months of flight, the U.S. Air Force's latest X-37 robotic space plane is nearing a milestone in its secret mission in Earth orbit as it chalks up mileage and operational experience.
As of last week, the reusable X-37B space plane had been in orbit for more than 206 days, two months shy of its 270-day mission design lifetime. The spacecraft, which looks like a miniature space shuttle, launched on its clandestine mission on March 5 from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
{...}
Extended flight possible
"On-orbit experimentation is continuing, though we cannot predict accurately when that will be complete," said Air Force Lt. Col. Tom McIntyre, the X-37 systems program director. “We are learning new things about the vehicle every day, which makes the mission a very dynamic process."
McIntyre told SPACE.com that X-37B controllers initially planned a nine-month mission "but will try to extend it as circumstances allow." Doing so would provide program officials with additional experimentation opportunities "and allow us to extract the maximum value out of the mission," he said.
{...}
The secretive X-37B robotic space plane is about to set its own space-endurance record on a hush-hush project operated by the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
The craft, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle-2, was boosted into Earth orbit atop an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 5. Tomorrow (Nov. 30), the X-37B spacecraft will mark its 270th day of flight — a lifetime in space that was heralded in the past as the vehicle's upper limit for spaceflight by project officials.
"It's still up there," U.S. Air Force Maj. Tracy Bunko of the Air Force Press Desk at the Pentagon, told SPACE.com, noting that project officials planned for a 9- month-plus mission, "so we're close to that now."
{...}
I think the Air Force will have better success with space travel than any other agency or company.
The United States Air Force’s second flight of the X-37B – is headed into extra innings. Known as the Orbital Test Vehicle 2 (OTV-2) this robotic mini space shuttle launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) on Mar. 5, 2011. Although the U.S. Air Force has kept mum regarding details about the space plane’s mission – it has announced that the OTV-2 has exceeded its endurance limit of 270 days on orbit as of the end of November.
{...}
OTV mission USA-226, as it is officially known, is by all accounts going smoothly and the spacecraft is reported to be in good health. The U.S. Air Force has not announced when OTV-2 will be directed to land.
The fact that the space plane will continue to orbit beyond what its stated limits are – highlights that the OTV has greater capabilities than what was officially announced. The first OTV flight launched in April of 2011 and landed 224 days later at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The U.S. Air Force is undoubtedly being more judicious with fuel stores on board the robotic spacecraft, allowing for a longer duration flight.
{...}
X-37B spaceplane 'spying on China'
WOW! I hadn't expected a second launch this fast! Really makes you wonder what the Air Force is up to that needs a vehicle up there only two months after the first returned.