One Up, One Down -- X-37B Lands at Vandenberg

While most of the space world's attention was focused on China and its successful launch of the Shenzhou-9 mission early this morning (Eastern Daylight Time), another interesting event was taking place at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA.   The Air Force's X-37B automated space plane returned home after 469 days in orbit.

The reusable space vehicle landed at 5:48 am Pacfic Daylight Time (8:48 am EDT).  It was launched on March 5, 2011 atop an Atlas V rocket. 

The X-37B's mission is highly classified.  What it's been doing for the past 15 months is not known publicly.   A press release from Vandenberg today says only that it "performs risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies."  

At least two X-37B Orbital Test Vehicles (OTVs) have been built.  The first, OTV-1, flew a successful 224-day mission in 2010.   The vehicle that landed today is OTV-2.   The Air Force announced today that OTV-1 will be launched again "sometime in Fall 2012."

Photo of X-37B OTV-1.  Photo Credit:  Boeing (via Spaceflightnow.com  http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1012/12x37gallery/)

The vehicle resembles a small space shuttle and the program was actually inherited by the Department of Defense from NASA.   It originally was designed by NASA as a test vehicle as part of its Orbital Space Plane (OSP) program.   OSP was going to be a crew return vehicle ("lifeboat") for the International Space Station, and eventually a two-way transportation system.   NASA cancelled the program in 2004, however, after President George W. Bush announced plans to focus NASA's human spaceflight program on a return to the Moon instead of extended operations of the ISS.   The X-37B does not carry people.