Launch Window: 3:39 to 5:39PM EST
Posted by JAC on 3/4/2011, 11:36 am


Last Updated: Friday, March 04, 2011 11:04 AM

CAPE CANAVERAL --  
An Atlas V rocket is scheduled to launch this afternoon from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but weather could be a problem.

The rocket will launch the U.S. military's X-37B, a prototype space plan also called the Orbital Test Vehicle, or OTV-2.

The launch window is between 3:39 p.m. and 5:39 p.m.

Weather at launch time is expected to only be at a 30 percent chance of acceptable launch conditions.  Wind and electrically charged clouds could keep the rocket grounded.

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is an experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Air Force.

Based on NASA's X-37 design, the unmanned OTV is designed for vertical launch to low Earth orbit where it can perform long duration experiments and testing.

Upon command from the ground, the OTV re-enters the atmosphere, descends and lands horizontally on a runway.

The X-37B is the first vehicle since NASA's space shuttle orbiter with the ability to return experiments to Earth for further inspection and analysis, but with an on-orbit time of 270 days.

The Air Force's first X-37B, OTV-1, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in 2010 and performed a successful landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base after 224 days, 8 hours and 24 minutes in orbit.

Launch viewing of today's launch is available at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
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Space plane and its secret payload set for launch - JAC, 3/4/2011, 11:26 am
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