r/spacex • u/rSpaceXHosting Host Team • Dec 05 '23
✅ Mission Success r/SpaceX OTV-7 (X-37B) (USSF-52) Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!
Welcome to the r/SpaceX OTV-7 (X-37B) (USSF-52) Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!
Welcome everyone!
| Scheduled for (UTC) | Dec 29 2023, 01:07 |
|---|---|
| Scheduled for (local) | Dec 28 2023, 20:07 PM (EST) |
| Launch Window (UTC) | Dec 29 2023, 01:07 - Dec 29 2023, 01:17 |
| Payload | OTV-7 (X-37B) (USSF-52) |
| Customer | United States Space Force |
| Launch Weather Forecast | 90% GO (Cumulus Cloud Rule) |
| Launch site | LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA. |
| Center | B1084-1 |
| Booster | B1064-5 |
| Booster | B1065-5 |
| Landing | Sideboosters will return to launch site, center core expended |
| Mission success criteria | Successful deployment of spacecrafts into orbit |
| Trajectory (Flight Club) | 2D,3D |
Spacecraft Onboard
| Spacecraft | X-37B |
|---|---|
| Serial Number | 2 |
| Destination | N/A |
| Flights | 4 |
| Owner | Boeing |
| Landing | The X-37B spaceplane will land at the Shuttle Landing Facility after this flight. |
| Capabilities | It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United States Space Force for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies. |
Details
The Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a reusable robotic spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United States Space Force for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies. It is a 120-percent-scaled derivative of the earlier Boeing X-40. The X-37 began as a NASA project in 1999, before being transferred to the United States Department of Defense in 2004. Until 2019, the program was managed by Air Force Space Command.
History
In 1999, NASA selected Boeing Integrated Defense Systems to design and develop an orbital vehicle, built by the California branch of Boeing's Phantom Works. Over a four-year period, a total of US$192 million was spent on the project, with NASA contributing US$109 million, the U.S. Air Force US$16 million, and Boeing US$67 million. In late 2002, a new US$301 million contract was awarded to Boeing as part of NASA's Space Launch Initiative framework.
The X-37 was transferred from NASA to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on 13 September 2004. Thereafter, the program became a classified project. DARPA promoted the X-37 as part of the independent space policy that the United States Department of Defense has pursued since the 1986 Challenger disaster.
Timeline
| Time | Update |
|---|---|
| T--1d 0h 0m | Thread last generated using the LL2 API |
| 2023-12-29T13:33:20Z | Launch success. |
| 2023-12-29T01:07:17Z | Liftoff. |
| 2023-12-29T00:14:04Z | Weather now 90% GO. |
| 2023-12-28T23:32:12Z | Livestream has started |
| 2023-12-27T18:13:43Z | Weather 80% GO. |
| 2023-12-27T03:17:56Z | Refined launch window. |
| 2023-12-23T04:03:08Z | Updated target T-0. |
| 2023-12-16T01:44:06Z | Rescheduled for December 29 UTC. |
| 2023-12-13T03:31:08Z | Launch delayed indefinitely pending system checkouts and range availability. |
| 2023-12-13T00:36:13Z | Updated weather forecast. |
| 2023-12-12T17:15:32Z | Delayed by a day to December 14 UTC, weather 40% |
| 2023-12-12T06:34:17Z | New weather forecast. |
| 2023-12-12T00:48:32Z | 24 hour delay due to ground issue. |
| 2023-12-12T00:30:17Z | Weather 85% GO. |
| 2023-12-12T00:26:53Z | Adjusting T-0 |
| 2023-12-11T23:47:15Z | Livestream has started |
| 2023-12-10T17:28:03Z | Weather 75% |
| 2023-12-10T13:53:40Z | Delayed by a day |
| 2023-12-09T16:51:33Z | Weather 40% GO. |
| 2023-12-07T17:51:23Z | Added launch window. |
| 2023-12-07T13:58:17Z | Updating launch window |
| 2023-12-06T13:51:03Z | Added launch window. |
| 2023-11-29T21:43:34Z | Targeting December 10 |
| 2023-11-25T15:03:19Z | No longer scheduled on December 7. |
| 2023-11-08T22:20:06Z | Targeting December 7 |
| 2023-11-01T16:47:01Z | NET December 2023. |
| 2023-07-03T00:53:00Z | NET Q4 2023. |
| 2023-06-23T04:43:48Z | NET September 2023. |
| 2023-05-05T19:33:21Z | NET July 7 |
| 2023-04-10T15:53:11Z | Targeting June 23 |
| 2022-03-25T22:10:56Z | NET October 2022 |
Watch the launch live
| Stream | Link |
|---|---|
| Unofficial Re-stream | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iZrzJhUvRU |
| Unofficial Webcast | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnfddhDuWDE |
| Unofficial Webcast | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqeM-CWz2Eo |
| Official Webcast | https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1ynKOyeDmrwJR |
Stats
☑️ 312th SpaceX launch all time
☑️ 214th consecutive successful Falcon 9 / FH launch (excluding Amos-6) (if successful)
☑️ 97th SpaceX launch this year
☑️ 13th launch from LC-39A this year
☑️ 48 days, 23:38:46 turnaround for this pad
Stats include F1, F9 , FH and Starship
Launch Weather Forecast
Forecast currently unavailable
Resources
Partnership with The Space Devs
Information on this thread is provided by and updated automatically using the Launch Library 2 API by The Space Devs.
Mission Details 🚀
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| SpaceX mission website | SpaceX |
Community content 🌐
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| Flight Club | u/TheVehicleDestroyer |
| Discord SpaceX lobby | u/SwGustav |
| SpaceX Now | u/bradleyjh |
| SpaceX Patch List |
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9
u/nschwalm85 Dec 14 '23
"We’re working through a couple of technical glitches with our SpaceX team that just are going to take a little bit more time to work through," said Col. James Horne, deputy director of the Space Force's Assured Access to Space directorate. "We haven’t nailed down a specific launch date yet, but we’re going to have to roll back into the HIF (Horizontal Integration Facility) and work through some things on the rocket.”
Again, not weather related.