Space Operations:After More Than Two Years in Orbit,US Space Force X-37B Lands at Space Shuttle Landing Facility

On 12 November 2022,a US Space Force Boeing X-37B spacecraft landed at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Shuttle Landing Facility.Its mission,labeled Orbital Test Vehicle-6 (OTV-6),lasted a programme-record 908 days-or about 2.5 years.Some of the payloads were classified,while others were disclosed.The spacecraft,resembling a smaller version of the Space Shuttle,is believed to be one of two the Space Force owns and had formerly belonged to the US Air Force.Indeed,it still bore the Air Force lettering.The X-37B's secretive missions have grown longer with each launch.An Atlas V rocket has served as the launch vehicle.* This time,the OTV-6 featured the introduction of a service module,described as being a ring attached to the rear of the vehicle.The service module detached from the OTV before landing because of the aerodynamic forces affecting the OTV upon re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere.It will be disposed of in accordance with environmentally sound best practices,ensuring that space junk will not be left behind.* Among the disclosed experiments were the Naval Research Lab's Photovoltaic Radio Frequency Antenna Module,which harnesses solar rays above the atmosphere,seeking to transmit power to the Earth as RF microwave energy.The US Air Force Academy sent the FalconSat-8,developed with the Air Force Research Laboratory.It provides hands-on space operator training to USAFA cadets before their commissioning as officers in the Space Force. NASA sent two experiments on OTV-6.These were the Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space-2 (METIS-2),which carried thermal coatings for testing;printed electronic materials;and candidate radiation shielding materials.After 908 days in space,these will be compared to ground simulations,validating and improving the precision of space environment models.NASA also sent a study of the effects of long-duration space exposure on seeds,in order to guide space crop production on interplanetary missions and permanently inhabited bases in space. Said Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Fritschen,Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office X-37B Program Director: The X-37B continues to push the boundaries of experimentation,enabled by an elite government and industry team behind the scenes.The addition of the service module on OTV-6 allowed us to host more expriments than ever before.* The undisclosed payloads would have perhaps tested the rapid deployment of space assets such as intelligence collection systems or satellite warfare components.For example,short notice could have been given of a Space Force need and the rapid deployment of it on the X-37B carried out.* Upon landing,technicians in biohazard-type suits safed the X-37B.* Boeing (BA) #usspaceforce #x37b #nasa #spaceshuttle #boeing #navalresearchlab #airforceresearchlab