Boeings Unmanned X37-B Lands After a Year in Orbit

Boeing have announced the successful landing of the Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) for the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.

This landing concluding a 469-day experimental test mission. It was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on March 5, 2011. OTV-1 was the United States’ first unmanned vehicle to return from space and land on its own. Previously, the space shuttle was the only space vehicle capable of returning to Earth and being reused. The innovative X-37B combines the best of an aircraft and a spacecraft into an affordable, responsive unmanned vehicle.

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    101 Comments

    1. Medicinnov8r said:

      And, ask Jesse Ventura about all the ‘truth’ they tell of

    2. Philip Smith said:

      You’ve gotta trust the federal government, they would not lie to the public. Look at all the truth they told us about 9/11/2012.

    3. indyCoder66 said:

      You’ve gotta trust the federal government, they would not lie to the public. Look at all the truth they told us about 9/11/2012.

    4. Philip Smith said:

      You’ve gotta trust the federal government, they would not lie to the public. Look at all the truth they told us about 9/11/2012.

    5. KKM121 said:

      China actually sent 3 astronauts to their space lab around the time this space plane landed.

    6. KKM121 said:

      China actually sent 3 astronauts to their space lab around the time this space plane landed.

    7. Verosonin said:

      Everyone forgets about it? I doubt anyone would forget something that monumental.

    8. Verosonin said:

      Everyone forgets about it? I doubt anyone would forget something that monumental.

    9. IDontKnowCorp said:

      because people often just forget about multibillion dollar space craft

    10. zuzulo56 said:

      It has seating for how many midgets…dwarfs?

    11. caiorearte said:

      @mzrealm Yeah, it just hovered over Earth for 15 months for “testing”… Reconnaissance, surveillance and combat are what makes the military, well, military. When those guys build a spaceship, I bet they have “world peace” in their minds…

    12. caiorearte said:

      @mzrealm Yeah, it just hovered over Earth for 15 months for “testing”… Reconnaissance, surveillance and combat are what makes the military, well, military. When those guys build a spaceship, I bet they have “world peace” in their minds…

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    14. nuke1jj said:

      It’s funny how many experts on this subject posted their expert opinions. The majority of the private sector think they have a good grasp of the technological capabilities of US military. Some of it is wishful thinking fueled by Hollywood. Mostly they have NO IDEA! The government spoon feeds the info at their discretion for reasons the public may not understand. Many people have made entire careers on perceived conspiracy and theories of clandestine technologies. An arsenal of Misinformation.

    15. nuke1jj said:

      It’s funny how many experts on this subject posted their expert opinions. The majority of the private sector think they have a good grasp of the technological capabilities of US military. Some of it is wishful thinking fueled by Hollywood. Mostly they have NO IDEA! The government spoon feeds the info at their discretion for reasons the public may not understand. Many people have made entire careers on perceived conspiracy and theories of clandestine technologies. An arsenal of Misinformation.

    16. AlSurMedia said:

      You can do the same thing with a suitcase, at much less expense, and even less of a chance of being detected. Plus, you don’t have to leave it sitting in orbit for months or years at a time. You might be reading a little too deep into this.

    17. AlSurMedia said:

      You can do the same thing with a suitcase, at much less expense, and even less of a chance of being detected. Plus, you don’t have to leave it sitting in orbit for months or years at a time. You might be reading a little too deep into this.

    18. Salien1999 said:

      o_O. It wouldn’t benefit us security-wise. That’s like coming up to a gang looking all “tough” and threatening to beat them up.

    19. Salien1999 said:

      o_O. It wouldn’t benefit us security-wise. That’s like coming up to a gang looking all “tough” and threatening to beat them up.

    20. Bleh Blehbleh said:

      Discounting the lows we humans will dive to in the name of security or power is a dangerous practice, America is not immune to this madness.

    21. Bleh Blehbleh said:

      Discounting the lows we humans will dive to in the name of security or power is a dangerous practice, America is not immune to this madness.

    22. secretstravel said:

      Discounting the lows we humans will dive to in the name of security or power is a dangerous practice, America is not immune to this madness.

    23. 1XNoScoperX1 said:

      You need to stop playing so much damn Call of Duty.

    24. Salien1999 said:

      What exactly do you mean? I’m one of the ones doubting that America would do that in the first place.

    25. Salien1999 said:

      What exactly do you mean? I’m one of the ones doubting that America would do that in the first place.

    26. odisy64 said:

      no, radar is only very effective on solids so it can detect warships air born missiles even meteorites. i doubt a nation is going to spend millions trying to make strong enough plastic that can survive space.

    27. odisy64 said:

      no, radar is only very effective on solids so it can detect warships air born missiles even meteorites. i doubt a nation is going to spend millions trying to make strong enough plastic that can survive space.

    28. howdyusa said:

      excuse me log? i keep fucking up

    29. howdyusa said:

      on a bump on a long in a hole in the middle of the sea kinda thing eh?

    30. howdyusa said:

      starting to see the bigger picture now are we???

    31. l0c0duk said:

      460 days in orbit what the heck was it doin

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    35. odisy64 said:

      also the was a new radar system built on a ship in the ocean that can detect objects the size of a baseball so even with no heat sig it can still be detected

    36. stardolphin2 said:

      That’s why a number of subs are always on patrol…multiple missiles, multiple independent warheads. Somebody’s always near enough…but adversaries don’t know where. Sats can be tracked and predicted easier than subs.And you underestimate how hard it is to re-enter (or make something you carry re-enter) a significant distance from the deploying sats’ ground track (or change orbit). Look up ‘cross-range,’ what it takes to get it, why the Shuttle had delta wings….

    37. biggydx said:

      Thats extremely unlikely since keeping such a vessel in orbit for a year would cause it to have the need for repair due to debris. In addition, you have to remember nearly every developed country has a satellite capable of knowing where such a “bomber” would be.

    38. gillianorley said:

      People seemed to have forgotten this one was up there.My point is that you could keep a few in orbit all the time so that nobody thinks it is out of the ordinary. They are just up there all the time, nobody pays them much mind, until they are used.

    39. gillianorley said:

      Well. when I say, “bomber” I did not mean that it would descend and reenter the atmosphere, but rather deploy ordinance from orbit. True, it would have to be on the correct orbital track, but orbiting about once every 45 minutes, it could adjust its orbit in a short time-frame. It would have to carry fuel to allow changing orbits.But my point is that part of launching from a sub or ship is the time (days or possibly weeks) for them to be deployed where needed especially for cruise missiles.

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    41. Stang70Fastback said:

      The space shuttle program really has numbed too many people to the awesomeness of modern space flights. Think about it for a second: This thing blasted off on a huge rocket, stayed in orbit doing all kinds of secret stuff, then plummeted back through the atmosphere as a ball of fire, and executing a perfect landing. All of this happened over the course of over a year with apparently no failures significant enough to cause any major problems……and all without a pilot on board. It’s amazing.

    42. ggqbc said:

      Quite the landing for a unmanned craft…you know it was sent up there for some sinister reason like watching some iranian take a dump. Possibly go and fuck up some other countries satellite p. If it was a test it wouldnt be up there for so long. Shows you the trust people have in the american government after that whole lie to go to war and butcher a million plus people thing

    43. 111sunder said:

      that little thing was just up in space for a full year and a half unmanned and circling doin wth knows what…and then it justs comes crusin up and parks…that was eerily simple looking.

    44. howdyusa said:

      why didnt you post your other comments??yes merit unfortunetly governs the majority. were human. we only want the dope shit.perhaps we simply just arent ready for the future.

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    46. AFTKen said:

      If the thing was really that “top secret” why the hell would it still be posted??

    47. odisy64 said:

      its in jenivas convention all countries have to obey it plus who would forget putting nukes in space! when your putting nukes in space it a pretty big fucking deal, if it explodes in orbit it EMP a country (yes it has happened before it was tested)

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    50. mzrealm said:

      Maybe just a little fucking test run? No need for all the conspiracy talk.

    51. Salien1999 said:

      Yes but I doubt that even the U.S. would be ballsy enough to risk the U.N. and others knocking on its door.

    52. stardolphin2 said:

      What exactly does that mean? If you refer to the DynaSoar/X-20, that *never flew.* It was cancelled just before ‘boilerplate’ versions were to be drop-tested from B-52′s. Nor do you know what was in the X-37′s payload bay. This isn’t quite like anything done ’50 years ago,’ I’m a child space geek that’s old enough o know…

    53. Lucky Cat said:

      in these days we shall see who are the true Americans, GOD bless the U.S empire.

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