US Space Force X-37B spacecraft has landed again after 434 days in space

The US Space Force's unmanned and reusable X-37B spacecraft has completed its seventh mission in space. The spacecraft has now landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, 434 days after its launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in December 2023. This mission thus ended much earlier than the previous one, in which the spacecraft had spent more than twice as long in space.

As the spacecraft belongs to the US military, little is known about the missions and their experiments. However, the secrecy surrounding the flights has recently been reduced somewhat. Last autumn, the Space Force announced that X-37B was to use the resistance of the Earth's atmosphere in a new type of "aerobraking" flight maneuverto change its orbit and consume as little fuel as possible. The probe was also to separate from its service module, a payload mounted on the tail. Around two weeks ago, the Space Force published a photo of the US spacecraft X-37B in space for the first time, showing part of the spacecraft and the entire globe from an apparently quite large distance.

Now the spacecraft, officially known as "Orbital Test Vehicle-7" (OTV-7), is back on Earth. According to the Space Force, take-off and landing at different locations demonstrate the flexibility of the system. "Mission 7 broke new ground by demonstrating the X-37B's ability to flexibly accomplish its test and experiment objectives in all orbits," said General Bradley Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations for the US Air Force. "The successful completion of the aerodynamic braking maneuver underscores the U.S. Space Force's commitment to pushing the boundaries of novel space operations in a safe and responsible manner."

Different launch vehicles and mission durations

Apart from the aerobraking maneuver, the other findings from X-37B's seventh mission remain under wraps. What is known, however, is that the spacecraft has already used three different launch vehicles to reach space. After X-37B had previously mostly used an Atlas V rocket and once a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX, a Falcon Heavy from Elon Musk's US space company was used for the seventh mission.

The comparatively short mission duration is also surprising. At 434 days, the seventh mission is the second shortest after the first X-37B mission ever, which lasted just 225 days fifteen years ago. All of the space glider's other missions lasted at least 468 days and, according to a list from Spacenews, were mostly around 700 to 800 days long. The previous and sixth mission is X-37B's longest to date. The spacecraft only returned after 908 days.

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