The Air Force's secret space plane sets a new record: 718 days in
orbit
But
what the heck is it doing up there?
The U.S. Air Force's X-37B space
plane has been orbiting Earth since September 7th, 2017, crossing the 718 day
mark and breaking its previous record of 717 days, 20 hours and 42 minutes in
flight. While little is known about the classified X-37B, we do know that it's
able to stay in operation for such long stretches of time thanks in part to its
solar panels and a lack of a human crew.
The Air Force began putting the
space plane through its paces in 2010, with the first "Orbital Test Vehicle"
(OTV) mission, which lasted 224 days. Each successive mission has lasted roughly
200 days longer than the previous flight, so the current mission, OTV-5, may
stay in orbit for several more months. This trend of increasing endurance raises
the question of why the Air Force needs a ship in orbit for what could turn out
to be years at a time. The Daily Beast has reported that the X-37B is "designed
to carry experimental payloads of sensors-like...high-tech cameras of various
types, electronic sensors and ground-mapping radars." Its ability to easily land
means the ship could hypothetically bring a spy satellite into orbit for a
testing period, then safely return it to Earth for any adjustments.
The
OTV missions are classified, so the official descriptions of what the ship is
doing up there are unsurprisingly vague. According to the craft's public mission
fact sheet, "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." We've also heard rumors that
the project is a test for Hall-effect propulsion, which uses ions to produce
thrust.
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