US Air Force launches ’space plane’
By DPA, IANSThursday, April 22, 2010
WASHINGTON - The US Air Force Thursday launched its so-called “space plane”, an unmanned craft designed to fly for months in space.
A rocket carrying the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle took off at shortly before 8 p.m. (2400 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission that the Air Force hopes will prove the viability of reusable drone access to space.
The mission is to test the guidance and other systems of the X-37B during the flight. Air Force officials say no decision has been made on when it will return to Earth. The planned landing venue is Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The Air Force has not disclosed any payloads that the vehicle is carrying or what type of experiments it will conduct. It has a wingspan of 4.5 metres, is 8.9 metres long and weighs 4,990 kg.
