NASA X-37B Space Drone OTV-2 Returns to Earth Safely

The USAF X-37B designated Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV)-2 returned to Earth on Saturday, June 16th after 468 days 13 hours and 2 minutes on a voyage that orbited the Earth more than 7,000 times performing a classified mission.

OTV-2 received the command from its ground controller to return and initiated an autonomous firing sequence of its propulsion system to brake from its orbit and dive through the atmosphere for a reentry over the Pacific Ocean.

OTV-2 executed a series of turns similar to those performed by the Space Shuttle to dissipate speed as it navigated autonomously via GPS towards Vandenberg AFB in California. OTV-2 touched down on the 3-mile (4.8 kilometer) long runway at Vandenberg 5:48 a.m. local (8:48 a.m. EDT; 1248 GMT).

OTV-2′s flight and that of its sister ship OTV-1, is classified and will likely remain so.

It is that secrecy that has spawned speculation about the purpose of the both spacecraft ranging from a test-bed for new sensors and materials to being a prototype for a new generation of space weapons.

The U.S. Air Force maintains that both spacecraft are designed as test-beds for new technologies; however, the classified nature of the project will ensure that speculation will continue.