The United Launch Alliance or ULA - a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin - successfully launched the US Air Force’s X-37B, an Orbital Test Vehicle or OTV developed by Boeing. The unmanned spacecraft is a reusable vehicle which is launched into space via a rocket, but reenters earth as a spaceplane. ULA said the launch took place at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station via the Atlas 5 rocket.
Reports indicate the Air Force’s shuttle is classified and thus, the organization has not released much information about the launch’s mission. After the launch, a news and media blackout immediately followed.
Experts say the X-37B might be carrying specialized sensors that are being tested for possible use in future satellites. The space vehicle is about one fourth the size of NASA’s Space Shuttle, and are the first vehicle since the end of the shuttle program, to be runway-landing.
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