BOEING-USAF X-37B O7V ON ORBIT

摘要

The rapid capabilities office of the U.S. Air Force is the customer for the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV). The program transitioned to the U.S. Air Force in 2004 after earlier funded research efforts by Boeing, NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on the earlier X-40A program, now merged. The Experimental Systems Group of Boeing, a unit of the Space and Intelligence Systems division, is the prime contractor for the X-37B OTV. The X-37B OTV is a relatively small unmanned space vehicle that will be used by the USAF to explore reusable vehicle technologies in support of long-term space objectives. These objectives include space experimentation, risk reduction and concept of operations development. The X-37 program began in 1999.