14 DAY TRIAL // The third flight in the United States Air Force (USAF) X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) program has just exceeded a new world record by remaining in space for more than 469 days. The flight is designated USA-240, and is being carried out by the first-ever X-37B space plane to see production.
This is the same spacecraft that was launched on flight OTV-1 and spent 224 days in space, between April 22 and December 3, 2010. The second flight of the series, OTV-2, was carried out by the second X-37B vehicle, and lasted from March 5, 2011 to June 16, 2012. This occasion saw a new record set in place, at 469 days spent in orbit.
The third flight was launched on December 11, 2012, aboard an Atlas V heavy-lift delivery system that took off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in Florida. Recently, the spacecraft exceeded the 469-days-in-space mark, establishing a new record, which is currently being pushed even further.
There is no word from the USAF at this point about when the USA-240 mission will end. The organization is also keeping mum about the payloads aboard its space planes, a strategy that has given birth to numerous concerns about the United States using space-based assets militarily. This is forbidden under United Nations legislation, which the US has signed, Space War reports.