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So, the world’s most mysterious UAV is set to return to Earth after spending nearly eight months in space where it did lord only knows what. Courtesy of the LA Times: The X-37, an unmanned spacecraft that resembles a miniature version of the space shuttle, is set to land at Vandenberg Air Force Base as early as this week — more than seven months after it was launched into orbit. The Air Force, which has been developing the X-37 pilotless space plane, has kept the ultimate purpose of the program hush-hush. It was launched April 22 from Cape Canaveral, Fla....

Preparations for the first landing of the X-37B are underway at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Space professionals from the 30th Space Wing will monitor the de-orbit and landing of the Air Force's first X-37B, called the Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (OTV-1). While the exact landing date and time will depend on technical and weather considerations, it is expected to occur between Friday, December 3, and Monday, December 6, 2010.

A Northrop Grumman-led Prime Team supported the recent test of a Minuteman III missile that struck a target near Kwajalein Atoll, the company said. The Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Prime Team delivered information regarding site selection for test assets and reviewed flight test hardware configuration before, during and after the launch for the 526th ICBM Systems Group at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. "Minuteman III has been alert ready for nearly four decades (and) we help the Air Force ensure the weapon system remains a credible deterrent force now and far into the future," said Tony Spehar, vice president and program...

Demonstration satellites built by Northrop Grumman and Raytheon successfully tracked a ground-based missile launch in a systems test last month. Tracking data generated by satellite sensors was transmitted to the Missile Defense Integration and Operation Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., which serves as the ground station for the two demonstration spacecraft, Northrop Grumman said in a news release "The STSS satellites operated as expected and the system generated high-quality track data during the boost phase in this first missile test of capabilities," said Gabe Watson, vice president, missile defense and missile warning programs for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.

Minute Man II missile with a "replica" nuclear warhead was successfully launched from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, officials said. The National Nuclear Security Administration conducted the test in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, an NNSA release said Thursday. The test was to evaluate the overall performance of the U.S. intercontinental ballistic weapon system, NNSA said. "This successful JTA (warhead) test illustrates NNSA's commitment to ensuring that all weapon systems perform as designed," said Brig. Gen. Garrett Harencak, NNSA Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator for Military Application. "The continued strong cooperation between the NNSA and (the Department of Defense) is...

A small army of workers quickly gave the Vandenberg Air Force Base runway a makeover in readiness for an unmanned spaceplane’s landing. Military officials called the recent runway hardware retrofit a necessary step to prep for the planned landing of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. The unmanned reusable spacecraft launched aboard an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in April. At the time, officials said X-37B — with a wingspan of nearly 15 feet, a length of 29 feet and height of less than 10 feet — could spend up to nine months testing technologies in orbit...

The first launch of the Minotaur IV Space Launch Vehicle is scheduled to occur April 20 at noon PDT from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The Minotaur IV is the newest variant in the Minotaur family of rockets built by Orbital Sciences Corporation. It is a four-stage solid rocket vehicle consisting of three decommissioned Peacekeeper missile stages and a fourth commercially built stage developed by OSC. For this maiden lift-off, the rocket will be in a "lite" configuration consisting of only the first three stages and no fourth stage due to mission requirements. The payload for this first launch is...

After a decade of development, the Air Force this month plans to launch a robotic spacecraft resembling a small space shuttle to conduct technology tests in orbit and then glide home to a California runway. The ultimate purpose of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and details about the craft, which has been passed between several government agencies, however, remain a mystery as it is prepared for launch April 19 from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The quietly scheduled launch culminates the project's long and expensive journey from NASA to the Pentagon's research and development arm and then to a secretive Air Force...

A test of the U.S. territorial missile defense system ended in failure because the sea-based cuing radar for the interceptor did not perform as planned, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announced Jan. 31. The Jan. 31 test was the first of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system in which the Sea-Based X-band radar was the primary source of tracking and targeting information, MDA spokesman Rick Lehner said Feb. 1. “It was the only radar used in the test,” he said. Previous tests of the GMD system have relied primarily on other radar tracking assets, such as the very high...

Vandenberg officials announced two days before the planned Nov. 18 launch that the missile test’s postponement would “allow for the completion of ground testing prior to launching.” However, in response to questions submitted this month, Air Force officials eventually confirmed that some of sort of problem with the weapon led to the postponement. “All that can be said at this time is that the problem was on-board the missile, and the problem is being actively analyzed,” officials said in a written statement. “Once the analysis is complete more information may be available. The analysis will focus on all aspects of...

The U.S. Air Force test program for its Minuteman III ICBMs has been interrupted by a "mechanical problem" that will delay the next test seven months. The missile, selected at random from those stored in Midwest silos, was brought to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, placed in a silo there, and readied for firing into the Pacific. But during the installation of the missile in the silo, a problem was encountered. The air force won't say what exactly the problems is, or if it is something common to other Minuteman missiles. This kind of testing is not as realistic...

Within a year—give or take a few months—the shuttles will no longer be roaring through Florida skies. The program will shut down, the orbiters will go to museums, and pundits and bloggers will jump all over each other to pontificate on the meaning of the shuttle program. Most will declare it a mistake, some will call it a disaster. Eventually the historians will get to it, holding symposia and writing books about the program. Some of them will look at the shuttle’s early origins, when it was slated to be all things to all people: cheap, reliable, responsive. They will...

U.S. Air Force officials are crafting plans for a 2011 demonstration of a Global Positioning System-tracking system for ascending rockets as part of a slow but comprehensive transformation of the Pentagon’s launch ranges. More than 50 years into the U.S. space launch program, the infrastructure designed to support rockets in some cases requires updating. In other cases, the government needs to off-load excess infrastructure that is no longer needed and focus efforts on more efficient satellite launch processing, says Lt. Gen. Larry James, 14th Air Force commander. The demonstration planned for 2011 is intended to prove the value of GPS...

A top Pentagon official said Monday that a US missile defense drill will simulate an Iranian attack, a departure from the usual scenario of a North Korean attack, according to Reuters. "Previously, we have been testing the GMD system against a North Korean-type scenario. This next test ... is more of a head-on shot like you would use defending against an Iranian shot into the United States. So that's the first time that we're now testing in a different scenario," Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, head of the US Missile Defense Agency said at the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in...

On 1 December 2009, the new US Air Force Global Strike Command formally assumed nuclear deterrence missions with land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. The Command assumed command and responsibility for 20th Air Force and its three missile wings located at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming; at Maelstrom Air Force Base in Montana; at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota; as well as the 576th Flight Test Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Command will later take over the B-52 and B-2 bombers as well.

It's been a long wait—in some ways, more than 50 years—but in April 2010, the U.S. Air Force is scheduled to launch an Atlas V booster from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the newest U.S. spacecraft, the unmanned X-37, to orbit. The X-37 embodies the Air Force's desire for an operational spaceplane, a wish that dates to the 1950s, the era of the rocket-powered X-15 and X-20. In other ways, though, the X-37 will be picking up where another U.S. spaceplane, NASA's space shuttle, leaves off.

You would think that an unpiloted space plane built to rocket spaceward from Florida atop an Atlas booster, circle the planet for an extended time, then land on autopilot on a California runway would be big news. But for the U.S. Air Force X-37B project — seemingly, mum's the word. There is an air of vagueness regarding next year's Atlas Evolved Expendable launch of the unpiloted, reusable military space plane. The X-37B will be cocooned within the Atlas rocket's launch shroud — a ride that's far from cheap. While the launch range approval is still forthcoming, SPACE.com has learned that...

Boeing, working with industry teammates and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), has completed construction of a second interceptor test silo for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The new underground silo provides additional test capability for the United States' only defense against long-range ballistic missile threats. "Having this second test silo to launch interceptors will allow us to test upgrades to the GMD system more quickly, improving the MDA's ability to stay ahead of evolving threats," said Norm Tew, Boeing vice president and GMD program director. "We are proud to deliver this additional capability...

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Beefed up security at Vandenberg Air Force Base is preventing public access to the state's Point Sal Beach, which can only be reached on foot through military base property. Outdoor recreational activity has also been banned on most of Vandenberg's 98,000 acres near Lompoc. The military says the heightened state of security will be in place indefinitely. Officials with Vandenberg's 30th Space Wing says the Department of Defense ordered the increase in security and no details are being released. However, the measures were imposed after Osama bin Laden released an audio recording threatening Americans.

$280-million mission to study global warming fails as spacecraft falls short of orbit. A rocket carrying a NASA satellite designed to study global warming crashed near Antarctica, failing to reach orbit after it was launched this morning, according to officials. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite never reached orbit after it took off about 2 a.m. Pacific Standard Time from Vandenberg Air Force Base, NASA said in a posting on its website.