Orbital Test Vehicle 7 (OTV-7), also referred to as United States Space Force-52 (USSF-52) or USA-349, is the fourth flight of the second Boeing X-37B, an American unmanned vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing spaceplane. It was launched to a highly elliptical high Earth orbit aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket (for the first time) from LC-39A on 28 December 2023.
The spaceplane is operated by the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and United States Space Force, which considers the mission classified and as such has not revealed the objectives. The spaceplane was sent to orbit with a wide range of test and experimentation objectives. These tests include operating in new orbital regimes, experimenting with space domain awareness technologies and investigating the radiation effects to materials provided by NASA.
Background and mission
OTV-7 is the fourth mission for the second X-37B built, and the seventh X-37B mission overall. It was flown on a Falcon Heavy in the expendable center core-recoverable side cores configuration, and launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A. It is the second classified flight of Falcon Heavy, awarded in June 2018. It is valued at US$130 million, increased to $149.2 million in August 2021, due to “a change in the contract requirements” and was expected to be completed by 14 April 2022. Draft solicitation said the launch was 6,350 kg (14,000 lb) to GTO. A month before launch, the Air Force announced that the mission would fly an X-37B spaceplane.
OTV-7 was deployed into a highly elliptical HEO orbit of 323 km (201 mi) x 38,838 km (24,133 mi) x 59.1° orbit.
In Oct 2024, OTV-7 was due to undertake aerobraking maneuvers to safely dispose of its service module.
Payloads and experiments
Onboard experiments include NASA’s Seeds-2 experiment investigating the effects of space-based radiation on plant seeds during a long-duration spaceflight.
| Mission type | Classified |
|---|---|
| Operator | U.S. Space Force |
| COSPAR ID | 2023-210A |
| SATCAT no. | 58666 |
| Mission duration | 289 days, 14 hours and 14 minutes (in progress) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Boeing X-37B |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Launch mass | 6,350 kg (14,000 lb) |
| Power | Deployable solar array, batteries |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | December 28, 2023, 01:07 UTC |
| Rocket | Falcon Heavy (B1064.5 (sides) B1084 (core), B1065.5 (sides)) |
| Launch site | LC-39A |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 2027 (planned) |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Highly elliptical high Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 323 km (201 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 38,838 km (24,133 mi) |
| Inclination | 59.1° |
Reference
- ^ Krebs, Gunter D. “X-37B OTV 1, 2, 3”. Gunter’s Space Page. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ Davenport, Justin (29 December 2023). “Falcon Heavy launches USSF-52 spaceplane”. NASASpaceFlight. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ Erwin, Sandra (8 November 2023). “U.S. Air Force X-37B spaceplane to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket”. SpaceNews. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ Clark, Stephen (8 November 2023). “In a surprise move, the military’s spaceplane will launch on Falcon Heavy”. Ars Technica. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ “UPDATE: SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch on hold for USSF-52 mission”. satnews.com. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- ^ “U.S. Air Force X-37B spaceplane to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket”. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ “United States Space Force Prepares X-37B for Launch”. United States Space Force. 29 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ “Department of the Air Force scheduled to launch seventh X-37B mission”. United States Space Force. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Brett Tingley (9 November 2023). “SpaceX will launch the Space Force’s mysterious X-37B space plane on a Falcon Heavy rocket Dec. 7”. Space.com.
- ^ “Falcon Heavy | USSF-52”. nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ “Air Force Awards AFSPC-52 Launch Services Contract to SpaceX”. Air Force Space Command. 21 June 2018. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ “Contracts For Aug. 20, 2021”. defense.gov. 20 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Hawthorne, California, has been awarded a $19,226,072 bilateral modification (P00009) to previously awarded Space Force 52 contract FA8811-18-C-0003… …the total cumulative face value of the contract is $149,226,072.
- ^ Erwin, Sandra (21 June 2018). “SpaceX wins $130 million military launch contract for Falcon Heavy”. SpaceNews. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ “Contracts For Aug. 20, 2021”. U.S. Department of Defense. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ Clark, Stephen (26 June 2018). “U.S. Air Force certifies Falcon Heavy rocket, awards launch contract”. SpaceNews. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. “Congrats to Tomi Simola for locating the secret X-37B spaceplane. OTV 7 is in a 323 x 38838 km x 59.1 deg orbit. Could be testing out a new HEO IR sensor for future early warning satellites – just a wild speculation on my part here”. X (Formerly Twitter).
- ^ Hitchens, Theresa (10 October 2024). “Secretive space plane X-37B to test ‘first of a kind’ maneuvers for shifting orbits”. breakingdefense.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.