![]() The OTVs launch on board United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rockets from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Air Force by the Boeing Company's Phantom Works, had been rated to spend 270 days in space but has now twice exceeded that (on this, its third mission, by more than 400 days). The reusable X-37B vehicles, which were built for the U.S. "The mission is our longest to date and we're pleased with the incremental progress we've seen in our testing of the reusable space plane." "The landing of OTV-3 marks a hallmark event," said the X-37B's program manager, whose name was not released. The 29-foot-long by 9.5 foot-tall (8.8 by 2.9 m) space plane, with a 15 foot (4.6 m) wingspan, first flew in space in 2010 for 225 days.Ī second OTV was launched in March 2011 and returned to Earth in June 2012 after 469 days in space. The clandestine flight marked the third mission for the X- 37B program and the first re-flight of one of the fleet's two vehicles. Air Force's X-37B space plane, as seen at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., after landing on Oct.
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