Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Official SpaceX OTV-5 mission patch.
Credit: SpaceX

For the first time, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was used to launch the reusable U.S. Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV). Previously, the robotic space drone was launched atop an Atlas 5.

This is the fifth mission of the X-37B program.

Launch time

SpaceX launch of OTV-5 from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida took place on Thursday, September 7 at 9:50 a.m. EDT or 13:50 UTC.

Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage successfully landed at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Here is the playback of the launch, along with a new Boeing video detailing the X-37B program:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M6Zvi-fFv4

The U.S. Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 4 is seen after landing at NASA ‘s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida on May 7, 2017.
Credit: U.S. Air Force courtesy photo

Experimental payloads

The  X-37B missions are under the wing of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.

According to a U.S. Air Force Space Command statement: “The fifth OTV mission continues to advance the X-37B’s performance and flexibility as a space technology demonstrator and host platform for experimental payloads.”

Additionally, the statements notes: “This mission carries small satellite ride shares and will demonstrate greater opportunities for rapid space access and on-orbit testing of emerging space technologies. Building upon the fourth mission and previous collaboration with experiment partners, this mission will host the Air Force Research Laboratory Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader payload to test experimental electronics and oscillating heat pipe technologies in the long duration space environment.”

Many firsts

Also noted by the Air Force statement is that this fifth OTV mission will be launched into, and landed from, a higher inclination orbit than prior missions to further expand the X-37B’s orbital envelope.

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle mission 4 (OTV-4), the Air Force’s unmanned, reusable space plane, landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility May 7, 2017.
Credit: USAF

“The many firsts on this mission make the upcoming OTV launch a milestone for the program,” said Randy Walden, the director of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. “It is our goal to continue advancing the X-37B OTV so it can more fully support the growing space community.”

The X-37B program completed its fourth mission on May 7, 2017, landing at the Kennedy Space Center after 718 days in orbit and extending the total number of days spent in orbit by X-37B vehicles to 2,085.

Credit: AFRL

On the manifest

While the total manifest on the space plane is classified, it has been announced that onboard the OTV-5 is the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) second Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader (ASETS-II) flight experiment.

Cutaway of an oscillating heat pipe (OHP) showing its microchannel pattern.
Credit: AFRL

The ASETS-II experiment is managed by the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate located at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.

ASETS-II will measure the microgravity performance, startup characteristics, and long term performance of an oscillating heat pipe (OHP) on orbit.

The ASETS-II experiment is made of three low-mass, low-cost OHPs and an electronics/experiment control box.

ASETS-II
Credit: AFRL

According to AFRL, the OHP is a simple, wickless heat pipe capable of rejecting more than 200 times the maximum heat load of an axially grooved heat pipe, and transporting more than 45 times more heat than copper.