The U.S. Air Force’s experimental X-37B orbital test vehicle returned to Earth on Saturday after a record mission lasting 908 days, beating its previous stay in space by 129 days.
The uncrewed, reusable, Boeing-built space plane landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, marking the end of its sixth mission, OTV-6, which Efficacy began on May 17, 2020.
The X-37B orbital test vehicle resembles NASA’s now-decommissioned space shuttle, but at 8.8 meters (29 feet) long, it’s about a quarter the length.
This latest mission wasn’t only its longest. It was also the first X-37B flight with a service module. This is a ring that attaches to the vehicle at the rear and allows for more experiments to take place during a mission. The module, which allows USAF to offer low-cost space access to more partners, was released from the space plane before landing to maintain the vehicle’s aerodynamic design for safe entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
The Naval Research Laboratory set up one of the latest flight experiments. It focused on the conversion of solar power into microwave electricity, while another tested the endurance of different materials in a space environment.
A third investigation focused on radiation and long-duration space exposure. USAF believes that future interplanetary missions could benefit from space crop production and establish permanently inhabited bases in space.
“The X-37B continues to push the boundaries of experimentation, enabled by an elite government and industry team behind the scenes,” USAF Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Fritschen. “The ability to conduct on-orbit experiments and bring them home safely for in-depth analysis on the ground has proven valuable for the Department of the Air Force and scientific community. The addition of the service module on OTV-6 allowed us to host more experiments than ever before.”
USAF describes the primary objectives of the X-37B as twofold: “Reusable spacecraft technologies for America’s future in space, and operating experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth.”
Timing details of the space plane’s next mission have yet to be announced.
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