First Flight: N/A
Mission: Unmanned testbed to test re-usable orbital/reentry system
Major Accomplishments:
Power Source (Orbital) : AR-2/3
fueled by hydrogen peroxide and JP-8 (aviation jet fuel)
Wing Span: 15'
Length: 27.5'
Maximum Achieved Speed: Mach 25 (Orbital)
Additional Information: The reusable X-37 was designed to operate in both orbital and reentry of flight. The unmanned space plane is planned to play a key role in NASA’s effort to reduce the cost of putting payloads into orbit.
The X-37 can be carried into orbit by the Space Shuttle or an expendable launch vehicle. The X-37 will demonstrate dozens of advanced airframe, avionics and operations technologies that can support various launch vehicle and spacecraft designs. A major focus of the X-37 will seek improvement of today’s spacecraft thermal protection systems. The systems now in use are fragile and expensive to maintain.
