The spacecraft are currently unmanned, but show great potential

Oct 8, 2011 16:01 GMT  ·  By
This rendition shows how an X-37B would carry out operations near and attached to the ISS
   This rendition shows how an X-37B would carry out operations near and attached to the ISS

The Boeing Company just announced a detailed plan to convert their X-37B robotic spacecraft into a delivery system that could carry supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). Officials from the corporation say that a scaled-up version of the craft could also deliver astronauts to low-Earth orbit.

Boeing's Phantom Works division currently builds the X-37B exclusively for the US Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, which is deploying it to space on missions exceeding 270 days, to test top secret technologies and payloads.

Even now, the second spacecraft of this class ever built – the Orbital Test Vehicle 2 (OTV-2) – flies above the planet's surface in low orbit, carrying out its assigned tasks. The first OTV flew back in 2010, from April 22 to December 3, remaining airborne for 224 days, 9 hours and 24 minutes, Space reports.

But now Boeing believes that it may be possible for the spacecraft to be converted to a cargo carrier for the ISS, fulfilling the same roles as the European ATV, Japanese HTV and Russian Progress capsules.

The announcement was made yesterday, October 7, by Arthur Grantz, at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' (AIAA) Space 2011 conference. The Boeing official is the chief engineer of the Experimental Systems Group at the company's Space and Intelligence Systems division.

“We validated all the autonomous guidance, navigation and control, aerodynamics and aero-heating and the thermal protection system. From a test vehicle standpoint, the 244 days is the longest duration on orbit for a reusable spacecraft,” the expert told attendants, referring to the success of OTV-1.

He added that the current design for X-37B is 8.8 meters long and 4.5 meters wide (29 by 15 feet), totaling a weight of about 4,990 kilograms (11,000 pounds) at launch. Boeing could easily scale the spacecraft up a little, in a project the company refers to as X-37C.

The new version could be used for sensitive and complex missions, such as for example returning biological experiments from the ISS. Standard, high acceleration capsules such as the ATV, HTV, Progress and Soyuz cannot handle such tasks, the Boeing official added.

Grantz went on to say that the X-37C can be constructed today, with existing technologies. Every single component that would go on the space plane has already been tested on its smaller counterpart, and proven to function properly.

In the future, X-37Cs could be used to carry one or more astronauts to low-Earth orbit and back. “Once qualified for human flight, these vehicles could transport a mix of astronauts and cargo to the ISS and offer a much gentler return to a runway landing for the space tourism industry,” Grantz concluded.