Is the US Space Force Conducting a Secret Mission X-37B?
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Roshan Amiri
- . December 9, 2023
- . Update: December 9, 2023 11:31 am
The US Space Force is set for a secret mission on its not-so-secret spacecraft the X-37B for the seventh time. It will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time on the evening of December 10 from the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida.
The X-37B will go into Earth orbit and carry out experiments that will deal with future space domain awareness technologies and the long-term effects of space radiation. Don Platt, director of the Florida Institute of Technology’s Spaceport Graduate Center in Titusville, said the robotic X-37B is a test platform that allows them to collect a bunch of data in a relatively controlled environment in the cargo bay of the space plane.
It will be in orbit for a period of time to see how well the sensors perform, how well they are immune to the radiation environment of the space. The spacecraft had last been on a marathon flight that lasted 908 days.
US Space Force X-37B Missions
The US Space Force has kept X-37B missions under wrap, only giving out very little information, so not much is known about the X-37B missions. Lt. Col. Joseph Fritschen, the X-37B program director for the Air Force Department’s Rapid Capabilities Office, said the X-37B continues to push the boundaries of experimentation, enabled by an ‘elite government and industry team’ behind the scenes. “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 Air Force and scientific community.”
Platt described the spacecraft as a test platform for new technology. “That’s one reason why the space plane will stay up for over a year, because they can build up a good-sized database on the performance of that technology and expose it to the space environment for a long period of time.”
For its latest mission, the X-37B will enable multiple cutting-edge experiments such as operating the reusable space plane in new orbital regimes; experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies; and investigating effects of harsh radiation on plant seeds provided by NASA, collecting data for future long-duration crewed space missions.
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X-37B is Like a Pickup Truck
The X-37B is 29 feet, 3 inches long, height 9 feet, six inches, and has a wingspan of 14 feet, 11 inches. The spacecraft is powered by Gallium Arsenide Solar cells with lithium-ion batteries. It has thrusters for orbit maneuvering and de-orbiting but has no engines to travel long distances in space or for powered flight through the atmosphere.
Engineers have described the X-37B as a pickup truck with a payload bay measuring 7-feet by 4-feet wide (about the size of a truck bed). Its ability to take cargo into space and then return them makes this spacecraft unique.
