Boeing

X-37B

Spaceplane

X-37B
Active

Overview

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The Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a reusable robotic spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United States Space Force for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies. It is a 120-percent-scaled derivative of the earlier Boeing X-40. The X-37 began as a NASA project in 1999, before being transferred to the United States Department of Defense in 2004. Until 2019, the program was managed by Air Force Space Command.

Agency

Boeing

Type

Spaceplane

Maiden Flight

April 22, 2010

Crew Capacity

N/A

Flight Life

Multiple years in orbit

Specifications

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It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United States Space Force for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies.

8.92

Height (m)

4.55

Diameter (m)

227

Payload Capacity (kg)

Return Capacity (kg)

Mission Record

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8

Total Launches

8

Successful

0

Failed

2

Spacecraft Flown

Landing Record

7

Attempted Landings

7

Successful Landings

0

Failed Landings

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