OTV-2
The X-37B back on Earth after completing OTV-2 | |
| Mission type | Demonstration |
|---|---|
| Operator | Air Force Space Command |
| COSPAR ID | 2011-010A |
| SATCAT no. | 37375 |
| Mission duration | 468 days, 13 hours, 2 minutes |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Boeing X-37B |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Launch mass | 5,400 kg (11,900 lb) |
| Power | Deployable solar array, batteries |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 5 March 2011, 22:46:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Atlas V 501 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 16 June 2012, 12:48:00 UTC |
| Landing site | Vandenberg, Runway 12 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Semi-major axis | 6,662 km (4,140 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.0008 |
| Perigee altitude | 278.5 km (173.1 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 289.3 km (179.8 mi) |
| Inclination | 41.9° |
| Period | 90.2 min |
| Mean motion | 15.96 |
| Epoch | 30 May 2012, 02:23:10 UTC |
OTV program | |
OTV-2 (also known as USA-226) was the first flight of the second Boeing X-37B, an American unmanned robotic vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing spaceplane. It was launched aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral on 5 March 2011, and landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base on 16 June 2012. It operated in low Earth orbit. Its USA-226 mission designation is part of the USA series.
The spaceplane was operated by Air Force Space Command, which has not revealed the specific identity of the payload for the first flight. The Air Force stated only that the spacecraft would "demonstrate various experiments and allow satellite sensors, subsystems, components, and associated technology to be transported into space and back."