TSAMTO, November 15. At the landing complex of the Space Center named after On November 12, NASA's John F. Kennedy (Florida) successfully landed an experimental orbital reusable UAV X-37B (OTV-6).
According to the press service of the US Space Forces, the device was in orbit for more than two years - 908 days, breaking the previously set record of 780 days. It also increased the total duration of the stay of this type of spacecraft in space to 3774 days.
The OTV-6 was the first device to have a service module fixed in the tail section, which allowed for a larger number of different experiments. The service module successfully separated from the OTV-6 before landing, so as not to cause interference when entering the atmosphere. In the coming weeks, it should be disposed of as part of the practice of combating "orbital debris".
The nature of most of the experiments is not disclosed. It was reported that the OTV-6 carried a photovoltaic RF antenna module. Conducted at the expense of the US Navy Research Laboratory, the experiment involved studying the possibility of converting solar energy into radio frequency microwave energy and transmitting it to Earth. In October 2021, the FalconSat-8 satellite of the US Air Force Academy, developed in collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory, was successfully deployed.
In the interests of NASA, the influence of cosmic radiation and other cosmic influences on samples of various coatings, materials, printed circuit boards, and protective equipment was studied as part of the METIS-2 experiment. The impact of space on seeds that can be used to grow plants in future flights was also evaluated.
As reported by TSAMTO, the X-37B is one of the most modern reusable spacecraft developed by Boeing to perform tasks in near–Earth orbit with a height of 110-500 miles at speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour.
The creation of the X-37 began in 1999 after NASA signed a contract with Boeing worth $ 173 million. Since 2004, the project has been managed by the US Air Force. The device was developed by Boeing Defense, Space & Security with the participation of the research laboratories of the X-40 programs of the US Air Force, X-37 NASA, and X-37 of the Agency for Advanced Research Programs of the US Department of Defense.
According to the developers, the design of the X-37B combines the best qualities of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which will allow it to be flexibly used to perform various tasks. The length of the device is about 29 feet (8.9 m), height – 9.5 feet (2.9 m), wingspan – more than 14 feet (4.5 m), starting weight – 11,000 pounds (4995 kg). The launch of the device is carried out vertically using a launch vehicle, landing - autonomously by airplane.
The launch of the first X-37B (OTV-1) took place on April 22, 2010. He was in space for 224 days. OTV-1 became the first unmanned US spacecraft to return from space and land on its own. The OTV-2 spacecraft, which was launched on March 5, 2011, performed tasks in orbit for 468 days. The third launch was made on December 11, 2012. The spacecraft was in orbit for 674 days. The launch of OTV-4 took place on May 20, 2015. The spacecraft landed on May 7, 2017, having spent 718 days in space. OTV-5 was launched on September 7, 2017, and it returned to earth on October 27, 2019 – after 780 days. Before the last flight, OTV spent 2,865 days in space.
The Atlas-V/501 launch vehicle, which launched the X-37B (OTV-6) spacecraft into orbit, was launched from the Complex 41 launch pad at Cape Canaveral (Florida) on May 17, 2020.
