The US Space Force’s secretive X-37B space plane has silently slipped past one year of flight time, marking a significant milestone. The Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-7) is engaged in performing aerobrake maneuvers to alter its orbit around Earth and safely dispose of its attached service module.
Launched on December 28, 2023, the X-37B was placed in a highly elliptical high-Earth orbit, higher than any previous spaceplane mission. During its stay in orbit, the US Space Force conducted radiation effect experiments and tested Space Domain Awareness technologies.
This flight marks the first time the US Space Force and the X-37B have attempted to carry out a dynamic aerobraking maneuver. The maneuver uses the heat-tiled spacecraft’s drag on Earth’s atmosphere to change orbits while expending minimal fuel.
The status of the aerobrake maneuver is currently unknown, but if successful, the uncrewed vehicle will resume its test and experimentation objectives until completion. At that point, it will de-orbit and execute a safe return to Earth, likely at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility Runway.
The X-37B program has a long history of spaceflight milestones, with previous vehicles spending extended periods in orbit. OTV-1 spent 224 days on orbit, while OTV-2 and OTV-3 each spent over 468 and 674 days, respectively. The latest mission is the sixth in the series, following OTV-4, OTV-5, and OTV-6, which spent nearly 780 and 908 days in orbit.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/tech/space-forces-secretive-x-37b-space-plane-soars-past-1-year-in-orbit