Exact Mission Still Not Known

Preparations for the first landing of the X-37B are underway at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Air Force Photo

According to an Air Force news release, space professionals from the 30th Space Wing will monitor the de-orbit and landing of the Air Force's first X-37B, called the Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (OTV-1). While the exact landing date and time will depend on technical and weather considerations, it is expected to occur between Friday, December 3, and Monday, December 6, 2010.

The flight of the OTV-1 has been shrouded in secrecy. A worldwide network of amateur sky-watchers had tried to keep tabs on the mini-shuttle wince its launch in April. The spacecraft shifted its orbit twice during the flight, causing a lot of speculation about the purpose of the mission. "The X-37B has the potential to bring to space the flexibility that unmanned systems provide warfighters and combatant commanders today," said Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, at the time of the launch. Boeing built the X-37B.

Air Force Photo

The Air Force said the vehicle would be used to demonstrate a reliable, reusable unmanned space test platform. Program objectives were listed as space experimentation, risk reduction, and concept-of-operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies.

Pentagon sources have indicated that there is a second X-37B in the works.

FMI: www.afspc.af.mil