Air Force X-37B Space Plane Touches Down After Record 780-Day Mission
The US Air Force's secretive X-37B space plane lands at Kennedy Space Center after breaking its own orbital endurance record. The vehicle completes its fifth classified mission and prepares for an upcoming sixth flight.
The US Air Force's X-37B space plane lands at Kennedy Space Center after spending a record-breaking 780 days in orbit. This milestone comfortably surpasses the vehicle's previous record of 717 days and marks the successful completion of its fifth mission. The Boeing-made reusable spacecraft vastly outperforms its originally expected 240-day orbital lifespan.
Although the Air Force states that the X-37B completes all mission objectives, the specific details of the payload remain classified. Officials reveal that the space plane carries a thermal spreader to test experimental electronics and heat pipe cooling, along with a possible Hall-effect ion thruster. Additionally, the director of the USAF Rapid Capabilities Office acknowledges that the vehicle deploys small satellites during the flight.
A sixth X-37B mission is already scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral in 2020, proving that the program continues to move forward. This newest record significantly raises the bar for future trips, meaning the Air Force faces a greater challenge if it wants to continue breaking endurance records. Flying the space plane for substantially more than two years appears feasible, but achieving that goal requires overcoming new technical hurdles.