Video: Super-secret spaceplane will change its orbit using aerobraking maneuvers

The Boeing-built X-37B will soon perform a series of advanced aerobraking maneuvers, taking the spaceplane from a Highly Elliptical Orbit, where it’s been operating since December 2023, and lowering its altitude using minimal fuel.

This will be the first time Boeing, the United States Space Force, and the X-37B attempt to accomplish this novel demonstration.

During aerobraking, the X-37B will use the drag of Earth’s atmosphere to slow it down, reducing the vehicle’s energy and changing the orbit while expending minimal fuel.

In a company press release, Boeing states the vehicle will dispose of a Service Module while the orbit change maneuver is performed “safely and responsibly.” Once aerobraking is complete, the X-37B will resume its test and experimentation objectives. No details are provided on what exactly the X-37B is doing during its mission.

With every mission, the X-37B innovates and breaks new records. The robotic vehicle flies in space without a crew. Managed by the U.S. military, the reusable spaceplane has flown several missions in Earth orbit and can remain in space for years. The spaceplane is now 10 months into its 7th mission, known as Orbital Test Vehicle-7.

Once its secret mission is complete, the vehicle will land back on Earth like an aircraft.

“There is no other space platform as capable, flexible, and maneuverable as the X-37B, and its next demonstration will be another proof point that this test vehicle sets the pace of innovation,” said Michelle Parker, vice president of Boeing’s Space Mission Systems.

“This first-of-a kind maneuver from the X-37B is an incredibly important milestone for the United States Space Force as we seek to expand our aptitude and ability to perform in this challenging domain,” said Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations.