2015 · United Launch Alliance
OTV-4 (X-37B) (USA 261) ( AFSPC-5) & ULTRASat cubesat deployer
successAtlas V 501 | OTV-4 (X-37B) (USA 261) (AFSPC-5) & ULTRASat cubesat deployer
It is the second flight of the second Boeing X-37B vehicle and the fourth flight of the program. United States Air Force Orbital Test Vehicle is an unmanned 5000 kg, 8.8 m-long reusable mini-spaceplane capable of autonomous re-entry and landing. The OTV-4 mission was to test Aerojet Rocketdyne's XR-5A Hall-effect thruster and conduct a NASA investigation for testing various materials in space. The mission concluded after 717 days in orbit, marking the first time X-37B landed on the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center.
Overview
- Date / time
- May 20, 2015 at 03:05 PM UTC
- Outcome
- success
- Launch site
- Space Launch Complex 41
- Mission
- OTV-4 (X-37B) (USA 261) ( AFSPC-5) & ULTRASat cubesat deployer
- Mission type
- Government/Top Secret
- Orbit achieved
- Low Earth Orbit