18 Facts About Boeing X-37

Boeing X-37, known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, is a reusable robotic spacecraft.

The Boeing X-37 is operated by the United States Space Force, and was previously operated by Air Force Space Command until 2019 for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies.

The Boeing X-37 began as a NASA project in 1999, before being transferred to the United States Department of Defense in 2004.

Boeing X-37 first flew during a drop test in 2006; its first orbital mission was launched in April 2010 on an Atlas V rocket, and returned to Earth in December 2010.

In 1999, NASA selected Boeing X-37 Integrated Defense Systems to design and develop an orbital vehicle, built by the California branch of Boeing X-37's Phantom Works.

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Aerodynamic design of the Boeing X-37 was derived from the larger Space Shuttle orbiter, hence the Boeing X-37 has a similar lift-to-drag ratio, and a lower cross range at higher altitudes and Mach numbers compared to DARPA's Hypersonic Technology Vehicle.

The Boeing X-37 was originally designed to be carried into orbit in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle, but underwent redesign for launch on a Delta IV or comparable rocket after it was determined that a shuttle flight would be uneconomical.

Boeing X-37 was transferred from NASA to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on 13 September 2004.

In September 2004, DARPA announced that for its initial atmospheric drop tests the Boeing X-37 would be launched from the Scaled Composites White Knight, a high-altitude research aircraft.

On 24 March 2006, the Boeing X-37 flew again, but a datalink failure prevented a free flight, and the vehicle returned to the ground still attached to its White Knight carrier aircraft.

In 2009, an EmDrive technology transfer contract with Boeing X-37 was undertaken via a State Department TAA and a UK export license, approved by the UK Ministry of Defence.

Boeing X-37 has since stated that it is no longer pursuing this area of research.

Processing for the Boeing X-37 is carried out inside Bays 1 and 2 of the Orbiter Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the vehicle is loaded with its top-secret payload.

The Boeing X-37 is then placed inside a fairing along with its stage adapter and transported to the launch site.

Once at Kennedy, the Boeing X-37 is unloaded and towed to the OPF, where it is prepared for its next flight.

Technologies demonstrated in the Boeing X-37 include an improved thermal protection system, enhanced avionics, an autonomous guidance system and an advanced airframe.

The development of the Boeing X-37 was to "aid in the design and development of NASA's Orbital Space Plane, designed to provide a crew rescue and crew transport capability to and from the International Space Station", according to a NASA fact sheet.

In 2011, Boeing announced plans for a scaled-up variant of the X-37B, referring to it as the X-37C.