Space Force’s X-37B completes seventh flight, lasting 434 days
With landing on March 7, 2025 at Vandenberg in California, of one of the Space Force’s two X-37B reusable mini-shuttles, the military completed the seventh total flight, this one lasting over 434 days.
The mission achieved a number of important milestones. First, it was the first launched on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. Previously launches had used both ULA’s Atlas-5 as well as SpaceX’s Falcon 9.
Second, the spacecraft successfully demonstrated its ability to use aerobraking to adjust its orbit.
The Space Force also claimed other classified experiments on board “tested space domain awareness technology experiments that aim to improve the United States Space Force’s knowledge of the space environment.” That’s however all they told us.
Because the Space Force has stopped telling us which of the two X-37B’s is flying on each launch, it is not clear the Space Force even has a fleet of two any longer. It could be one has been retired.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
With landing on March 7, 2025 at Vandenberg in California, of one of the Space Force’s two X-37B reusable mini-shuttles, the military completed the seventh total flight, this one lasting over 434 days.
The mission achieved a number of important milestones. First, it was the first launched on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. Previously launches had used both ULA’s Atlas-5 as well as SpaceX’s Falcon 9.
Second, the spacecraft successfully demonstrated its ability to use aerobraking to adjust its orbit.
The Space Force also claimed other classified experiments on board “tested space domain awareness technology experiments that aim to improve the United States Space Force’s knowledge of the space environment.” That’s however all they told us.
Because the Space Force has stopped telling us which of the two X-37B’s is flying on each launch, it is not clear the Space Force even has a fleet of two any longer. It could be one has been retired.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
It seemed like yesterday they released a photo showing a distant Earth—and now they’re back on the ground?
There was quite a dust-up at Secret Projects Review over X-37’s handling characteristics:
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/x-37b-orbital-test-vehicle-otv.5232/page-27#post-760394
“Byeman” (named after a spooky program) is Charlie at Disqus and Jim at NSF.
James Knauf is his full name most likely—he hated how I considered Delta II a crutch—and likely wrote this as something of a response:
https://www.thespacereview.com/article/3564/1
At SPF, he claims to have worked on it-so perhaps he’s being a patriot in poor-mouthing it…still