United Launch Alliance

OTV-1 (X-37B) (USA 212)

Atlas V 501

SUCCESS
Success

Thursday, April 22, 2010 · 23:52 UTC

Mission

/01

It is the first flight of Boeing X-37B, a United States Air Force Orbital Test Vehicle, which is an unmanned 5000 kg, 8.8 m-long reusable mini-spaceplane capable of autonomous re-entry and landing. The OTV-1 mission was designed to test new technologies, however the specific identity of the spaceship's payload was not revealed. OTV was the first vehicle since NASA's shuttle orbiter capable of returning experiments to Earth for further inspection and analysis. The mission concluded after 224 days in orbit, marking the first American autonomous orbital runway landing.

Mission Type

Government/Top Secret

Orbit

Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

Probability

N/A

Status

Launch Successful

Vehicle & Pad

/02

Rocket

Atlas V 501

Variant: 501

Launch Pad

Space Launch Complex 41

Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

28.583° N, 80.583° W

46

Pad Launches

671

Location Launches

41

Agency Launches

16

Orbital This Year

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