If the general public were to be interested in how the armed forces of the United States are advancing their positions in outer space, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle would be the first element to reveal the wonders of such progression. Being the small and reusable spaceplane – a vehicle belonging to the category of an unmanned cousin of the space shuttle – it has made a very courageous step to be one of the most highly spellbound and secretly U.S. Space Force’s assets.
Seventh flight called OTV-7 was, even by the standards of X-37B’s real achievements, peculiar. The seven-time spaceplane managed to achieve a very eccentric orbit that allowed it to be way off the ground, in the very far part of the orbit. Only such a unique path could enable the staff to test the new, completely different, and alt-tech applications than any previous mission did.
The most impressive technology showcase was probably the aerobraking one. To cut into the very edge of Earth’s atmosphere, the X-37B would be, apart from reducing its velocity, able to adjust its orbit at the same time, but without any onboard fuel consumption. This approach, which is most often linked to Mars’ missions, has here just become the spaceplane’s very first time, and so it had to bring out the spacecraft’s orbital agility.
In essence, this particular operation does have a strategic value. Now this method enables the X-37B to be in a proximity to the Earth but practically concealed from the line of sight, thus, it is almost impossible for potential opponents to locate it.
Recalling the action of a submarine passing through thermal layers and thus having reduced visibility, ex-Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson was making the point that the X-37B’s less detectable tracks provide similar tactical advantages.
OTV-7 was also equipped with devices that tried to expand the visibility of the space domain – the capability to monitor and comprehend what happens around the Earth. New kinds of sensors and tracking systems have been tested to help the detection of satellites, orbital debris, and other objects moving in the rapidly expanding space environment.
Besides that, NASA’s Seeds-2 experiment experimented with the growth of seeds exposed to space radiation for 12 months, and in the end, their findings would be the basis for the long-duration missions of the crews in space, mainly concerning how they have to manage the food-growing part of the mission.
After 434 days or more than 14 months, the X-37B is back at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, completely safe and sound. This landing on the ground, so spectacular, was proof of the vehicle’s resistance for far missions and demonstrated its versatility, having both the take-off and the landing capability from several locations to be able to carry out different operations.
The main point that is extracted from the OTV-7 mission is that the X-37B is transformed into a laboratory for testing advanced space technologies for the future, such as navigation by itself and the use of communications with higher levels of sophistication.
That is what the Vice President of Boeing Space Mission Systems, Michelle Parker, said when she noted that the experience gained in these missions will be translated into the far-reaching application of technologies and concepts not only in the military but also in the civilian space operations of the coming era.
By accomplishing this new task, the X-37B not only has managed to show that America is still in the race and is ready to face any challenge thrown by space, but also went ahead to select the successors that the next period of orbital operations.