Top secret X-37B space plane will execute a ‘never-before-seen-manoeuvre’ – in novel exercise that could let it evade detection by hostile nations

The Pentagon is usually scant on any details about the X-37B, its top secret space plane that flies up to 500 miles above Earth.

But the Department of Defense has now revealed that the unmanned craft is about to execute a ‘first-of-a-kind’ manoeuvre to alter its orbit. 

It’s thought the novel exercise will let it evade detection by hostile nations and perform secretive ‘low-passes’ over Earth. 

The Boeing-built vehicle, roughly the size of a small bus and resembling a miniature space shuttle, has been launched seven times since 2010. 

Although the exact purpose of the ship is a guarded secret by the US Space Force, it’s thought to carry spy equipment, satellites or even weaponry. 

The Pentagon has disclosed details about the X-37B mission (pictured), conducted by the US Space Force under the military’s National Security Space Launch program

What is the X-37?

X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle concludes its sixth successful mission, November 2022

X-37 is a reusable robotic spacecraft manufactured by Boeing for the US government. 

Boeing says it’s been designed to operate in low-earth orbit, 150 to 500 miles above the Earth. 

It is used to host a range of classified experiments for the military. 

The Boeing X-37 – about 30 feet in length with a 14-ft wingspan – launched on its seventh mission in December 2023 and is still in space almost a year later.

The US Space Force has confirmed that it’s been conducting ‘radiation effect experiments’ and testing ‘awareness technologies’ in a ‘highly elliptical’ orbit – one that is not perfectly circular.

Now, in a rare update, Frank Kendall, secretary of the Air Force, has intriguingly confirmed that it’s conducting ‘national security missions in space’. 

The online update also revealed that this ‘novel space manoeuvre’ – called aerobraking – is being attempted for the first time. 

Aerobraking is a method of slowing down a spacecraft by using the atmosphere or outer gas layers of a planet. 

The space plane ‘dips’ into the atmosphere, and as it does, the molecules of gas in the atmosphere rub against the ship. 

This acts as resistance and slows the ship down. 

Often a ship will use aerobraking to change an orbit or slow a ship enough so that gravity will pull it down to a planet.

‘This first-of-a-kind maneuver from the X-37B is an incredibly important milestone for the United States Space Force,’ said Space Force general Chance Saltzman. 

‘We seek to expand our aptitude and ability to perform in this challenging domain.’

During aerobraking, X-37 will also ‘safely dispose of its service module components in accordance with standards for space debris, the US Space Force added. 

It said in its statement: ‘The use of the aerobraking maneuver, a series of passes using the drag of Earth’s atmosphere, enables the spacecraft to change orbits while expending minimal fuel.

The artist rendition above shows what the space plane – which uses an on-board propulsion system – might look like orbiting Earth

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying the space plane lifts off from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, December 28, 2023

‘Once the aerobrake maneuver is complete, the X-37B will resume its test and experimentation objectives until they are accomplished, at which time the vehicle will de-orbit and execute a safe return as it has during its six previous missions. 

The US Space Force comes under the Department of Defense, also known as the Pentagon. 

Generally, the Pentagon discloses little details about X-37B,  which is conducted by the US Space Force under the military’s National Security Space Launch program.

First launched in 2010, X-37B is officially described as a ‘reusable, unmanned spacecraft that strengthens the United States’ future in space by conducting technology experiments that expedite the development of next-generation capabilities’. 

It is currently on its seventh mission, dubbed ‘OTV-7’, launched December 28 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX rocket. 

It’s thought that for each mission, the unmanned space plane has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit. 

On its fifth mission, OTV-5, in 2017, it emerged that an on-board payload was a ’embedded thermal spreader’ – equipment testing the longevity of electronics and heat pipes in the space environment. 

Dutch astronomer Ralf Vandebergh captured rare photographs of the X-37B in orbit during this mission in June 2019 – at an altitude of around 210 miles. 

Dutch astronomer Ralf Vandebergh captured rare photographs of the X-37B in orbit in June 2019 – at an altitude of around 210 miles

The aircraft’s latest trip, called the Orbital Test Vehicle-5 (OTV-5), began on September 7th, 2017. It launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center 

According to reports, X-37B has also carried out a NASA experiment to study how plant seeds are affected by prolonged exposure to the harsh environment of radiation in space. 

The ability to cultivate crops in space has major implications for keeping astronauts nourished during future long-term missions to the moon and Mars.

However, as with prior missions, OTV-7 is considered classified by the US Space Force and so exact mission objectives have not been revealed. 

The planned duration of the latest seventh mission was not made public, but it could run until June 2026 or later, given the prevailing pattern of successively longer flights.

Its last mission remained in orbit for well over two years before landing in November 2022.