Photo: Boeing
The US Space Force announced today that it would be conducting “novel” maneuvers with one of its two Boeing X-37B orbiters.
Officially listed as a spacecraft with a mission duration “up to 270 days” the two known X-37B have performed flights lasting as long as 908 days with others lasting more than 700 days before the lifting body returned to Earth. According to the Space Force, the vehicles are used for space domain awareness, for tests of new sensor technologies and satellite hardware in orbit, for radiation testing as well as testing avionics and other flight systems.
Photo: Richard Gallagher / FMN
The X-37B’s seventh mission, OTV-7, launched on December 7, 2023 from Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman praised the team for its efforts. “This first of a kind maneuver from the X-37B is an incredibly important milestone for the United States Space Force as we seek to expand our aptitude and ability to perform in this challenging domain. The success is a testament to the dedication and perseverance of the team.”
So What Will X-37B Do?
The Space Force offers the clearest account of what is planned:
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-7) will begin executing a series of novel maneuvers, called aerobraking, to change its orbit around Earth and safely dispose of its service module components in accordance with recognized standards for space debris mitigation. Since December 28, 2023, the United States Space Force, supported by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, has conducted radiation effect experiments and has been testing Space Domain Awareness technologies in a Highly Elliptical Orbit.
The use of the aerobraking maneuver- a series of passes using the drag of Earth’s atmosphere- enables the spacecraft to change orbits while expending minimal fuel. Once the aerobrake maneuver is complete, the X-37B will resume its test and experimentation objectives until they are accomplished, at which time the vehicle will de-orbit and execute a safe return as it has during its six previous missions.
US Space Force, October 10, 2024
Aerobraking uses atmospheric drag ro slow down an object that is approaching a planet or some other body with an atmosphere. Also known as atmospheric breaking it can be utilized to alter the orbit of a spacecraft or decrease a vehicle’s velocity prior to landing.
Aerobraking is a well known technology — it has been used with Martian probes to slow spacecraft as they encounter the Red Planet and prepare for orbiting Mars or performing a landing, and the Orion capsule of Artemis plans to use aerobraking as part of its reentry regimen when it returns astronauts from lunar missions. The Space Force test will be the first time that an aerobraking maneuver has been utilized to shift the orbit of an orbiting spacecraft.
The Space Force made no comment as to whether they would share the results of the planned maneuvers.