What is the X-37B, the US military’s top secret spacecraft?

The mystery around the US military’s X-37B plane continues. On Monday, SpaceX announced that the X-37B’s seventh mission into orbit was being delayed by at least a day. The X-37B has flown six missions since 2010. Its previous flight lasted well over two years before the vehicle return landed in November 2022. The US defence department discloses few details about its operation, which is carried out as part of the military’s National Security Space Launch program. But what do we know about X-37B? Let’s take a closer look: What do we know? According to Secure World, the X-37B began in 1999 as a NASA initiative. It was shifted to Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2004. It then became a classified project and was given to the US Air Force.

The programme is run by the Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office.

Its mission control is the Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado. As per Boeing.com, the X-37B is among the world’s newest and most advanced re-entry craft. The unmanned spacecraft is designed to work in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). As per Space.com, the vehicle is similar to NASA’s famous space shuttle. It is 8.8 meters long and 2.9 metre tall. That puts it at one fourth the size of the space shuttle, as per the Boeing website, With a wingspan of less than 4.6 metres, it weights around 5,000 kilograms. Its payload bay is 2.1 metres by 1.2 metres. [caption id=“attachment_13495292” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The Pentagon is thought to have two X-B37s — both built by Boeing. Image courtesy: Boeing website.[/caption] It can operate from anywhere between 177 kilometres to 805 kilometres. It launches vertically via a rocket and then cruises back to the Earth and lands on a runway. The Pentagon is thought to have two X-37Bs, as per Geekwire.com. Both have been built by Boeing. As per CBS, the X-37Bs have spent more than a decade in space thus far. Its first five missions were powered by the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rockets. The sixth mission used the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. X-37B’s space voyages:

• OTV-1: April 2010 – Dec 2010 (224 days).
• OTV-2: March 2011 to June 2012 (468 days).
• OTV-3: December 2012 to October 2014 (674 days).
• OTV-4: May 2015 to May 2017 (718 days).
• OTV-5: September 2017 to October 2019 (780 days).
• OTV-6: May 2020 to November 2022 (908 days).

As per Washington Post, SpaceX was awarded the $130 million launch contract in 2018. As per the Space Force website, the sixth mission was the first to use a service module. The space force called it “a ring attached to the rear of the vehicle expanding the number of experiments that can be hosted during a mission.” The X-37Bs come with an extendable solar array that allows them to fly for an extremely long time.

This current mission will be the first to use the powerful SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

The Falcon Heavy comprises three reusable rocket cores strapped together. As per New Scientist, the Falcon Heavy is around three times more powerful than the Atlas V and Falcon 9 rockets. The Falcon Heavy is capable of lofting the vehicle far higher in orbit than ever before. What is it doing in space? That’s the mystery. A factsheet from the US Air Force states, “The primary objectives of the X-37B are twofold: reusable spacecraft technologies for America’s future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth.” Secure World in a fact sheet states that the X-37B has “near-zero feasibility as an orbital weapons system for attacking targets on the ground.” It says the X-37B is likely used for “testing reusable space launch vehicle technologies (such as guidance and thermal protection) and on-orbit testing of new sensor technologies and satellite hardware for risk reduction.” As per NPR, a slew of experiments have been conducted aboard the X-37B including trying to transform solar power into microwave energy, testing the sturdiness of materials in space and the long-term effects of space radiation on seeds. [caption id=“attachment_13495302” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The X-37B has logged more than a decade of space flight. Image courtesy: Boeing[/caption] According to CNET, its previous mission also left behind a satellite for US Air Force Academy cadets to get “hands-on experience as space operators.” “The X-37B continues to push the boundaries of experimentation, enabled by an elite government and industry team behind the scenes,” Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Fritschen, the X-37B program director for the Air Force Department’s Rapid Capabilities Office was quoted as saying by NPR after the sixth mission. “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.”

Like the other missions before it, not much is known about the objectives of its latest flight.

The Space Force website states, “The NASA experiment onboard will expose plant seeds to the harsh radiation environment of long-duration spaceflight. Known as “Seeds-2,” the experiment will build upon the successes of prior experiments, paving the way for future crewed space missions.” The Space Force in a statement said the X-37B in this mission would find itself “operating in new orbital regimes.” The Washington Post quoted the Pentagon as saying the mission has “a wide range of test and experimentation objectives.” “These tests include operating the reusable spaceplane in new orbital regimes, experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies.” Experts say the mystery surrounding the X-37B is strange. [caption id=“attachment_13495332” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The Pentagon says its latest mission has “a wide range of test and experimentation objectives.” Image courtesy: Boeing website[/caption] “The US government is in this weird place where they brag publicly about how amazing it is and cutting edge, but will not provide any info about it,” Brian Weeden, the director of program planning at the Secure World Foundation think-tank told the Washington Post.

“It’s doing something that the Pentagon feels is very important,” Weeden added.

“It has been a remarkable test bed and experimentation vehicle for many years,” General David Thompson, the Space Force’s vice chief of space operations was quoted as saying by the newspaper. “I would tell you, you’re only beginning to see some of the exciting things that we have planned for the X-37.” ‘Mission halted due to ground side issue’ The flight was called off for the night about 25 minutes before the start of a targeted launch window set to open at 8:14 pm EST as the rocket stood poised for lift-off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. In a message posted on the social media platform X, Elon Musk’s California-based rocket venture said the countdown was halted “due to a ground side issue,” adding that the “vehicle and payload remain healthy.” SpaceX did not elaborate. The company did not immediately say when it would try again. The mission’s next launch opportunity is Tuesday night, SpaceX said. The original plan to send the spacecraft to orbit late on Sunday was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions at the Cape. With inputs from agencies