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http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/03/airforce_x37b_031810w/
New unmanned spacecraft to launch in April
Staff report
Posted : Thursday Mar 18, 2010 19:52:33 EDT
Posted : Thursday Mar 18, 2010 19:52:33 EDT
Next month, the Air Force will launch an unmanned spacecraft that can fly home and land on its own.
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is an adaptation of NASA’s old X-37 program that started in 1999.
The craft is nearly 30 feet long and almost 10 feet tall, with a 14-foot, 11-inch wingspan. It could be used for intelligence gathering or delivering small satellites. For now, the Air Force says, the program objectives are “space experimentation, risk reduction and … development [of] reusable space vehicle technologies.”
The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office in Washington has taken the lead on the X-37B initiative. The initial launch, on an Atlas V rocket, is scheduled for April 19 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
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Air Force
The Air Force will launch an unmanned X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle next month.
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