LOS ANGELES — After a decade of development, the Air Force this month plans to launch a robotic spacecraft resembling a small space shuttle to conduct technology tests in orbit and then glide home to a California runway.
The ultimate purpose of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and details about the craft, which has been passed among several government agencies, however, remain a mystery as it is prepared for launch April 19 from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
“As long as you’re confused, you’re in good shape,” said defense analyst John Pike, director of .
“I looked into this a couple of years ago — the entire sort of hypersonic, suborbital, scramjet nest of programs — of which there are upwards of a dozen. The more I studied it, the less I understood it.”
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on the X-37 program, but the current total has not been released.
While the space shuttles have been likened to cargo-hauling trucks, the X-37B is more like a sports car. Built by Boeing Co.’s Phantom Works, the 11,000-pound craft is 9 1/2 feet tall and just over 29 feet long, with a wingspan of less than 15 feet.
The Air Force released only a general description of the mission objectives: testing of guidance, navigation, control, thermal protection and autonomous operation in orbit, re-entry and landing. The mission’s length was not released but the Air Force said the X-37B can stay in orbit for 270 days.
