The X-37B, an unmanned US Air Force ‘space drone’, returned to Earth on Saturday after a lengthy mission of 468 days. However, the precise mission of the spacecraft is being kept a secret.
The space drone, also known as Orbital Test Vehicle-2, was launched on an Atlas 5 rocket on March 5, 2011. Since then, the X-37B has completed more than 7,000 orbits around the Earth. When the space drone was ordered to return to Earth after 468 days, the unmanned aircraft hovered over the Pacific Ocean and landed on GPS at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. With a flight of 468 days, the X-37B easily beats the record of its sister ship OTV-1, which remained in space for 225 days.
The US Air Force would not say what the exact mission of the experimental aircraft was; the mission and the exact payload of the aircraft have been kept secret. It is clear that tests have been carried out with the heat resistance of the reusable device, but which experiments have been carried out with the space drone in the universe remains unknown. However, the army denies that the device can be used for offensive purposes, such as taking out enemy satellites.
The X-37B was built by Boeing’s Phantom Works. The aircraft, which resembles the Space Shuttle, weighs approximately 5 tons and is 9 meters long and approximately 5 meters wide. The spacecraft can carry a payload of several hundred kilograms. During its flight, solar cells provide the required energy.
At the end of this year, the US Air Force plans to send another X-37B into the air for a new mission. In addition, there are plans to build the X-37C, a variant that is 65 to 80 percent larger than the current design and could potentially carry astronauts in the future.