Note: Only forum leaders may delete posts.
*HTML is ON *UBB Code is ON Smilies Legend
Smilies Legend
[b]SpaceX to launch Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV)[/b] A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch the U.S. Air Force's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) on its fifth mission. The fifth OTV mission continues to advance the X-37B's performance and flexibility as a space technology demonstrator and host platform for experimental payloads. The OTV-5 mission carries small satellite ride shares and will demonstrate greater opportunities for rapid space access and on-orbit testing of emerging space technologies. Building upon the fourth mission, OTV-5 will launch with the Air Force Research Lab's Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader payload to test experimental electronics and oscillating heat pipe technologies in the long duration space environment. This will be the program's first launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The fifth OTV mission will also be launched into, and landed from, a higher inclination orbit than prior missions to further expand the X-37B's orbital envelope. Following the launch from Pad 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida and stage separation, the Falcon 9 first stage will attempt a return to SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Contact Us | The Source for Space History & Artifacts
Copyright 1999-2024 collectSPACE. All rights reserved.