Space Force to Test New Orbit-Switching Maneuver on X-37B Space Plane Written 11 October 2024
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The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. | Associated Press–©
Defense One reports, “A U.S. X-37B space plane is slated to test a new way of rapidly changing its orbit, part of the Space Force’s quest for fuel-sipping maneuverability. The spacecraft will experiment with aerobraking, which uses Earth’s atmosphere to slow down and switch orbits. “The use of the aerobraking maneuver—a series of passes using the drag of Earth’s atmosphere—enables the spacecraft to change orbits while expending minimal fuel,” the service said in a release today.”
Full Story (Defense One)