Key Points and Summary – The U.S. Space Force’s secretive X-37B is a reusable, unmanned spaceplane whose true mission remains a mystery.
-Its eighth mission, launched August 21, 2025, has reignited speculation, with Russia and China claiming it is a space bomber.
-However, that theory seems flawed. Its tiny payload bay, limited capacity, and easily trackable low-Earth orbit make it an impractical weapon.
-While not a “Death Star,” the X-37B is an invaluable and record-breaking testbed for advanced satellite technologies, allowing the U.S. to experiment in space and bring the results back home for analysis.
The X-37B, The Secretive Reusable Space Vehicle
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, or OTV, is an experimental test space vehicle that is planned as a reliable, reusable, unmanned platform for the U.S. Space Force.
Since its first flight in 2010, the X-37B has served NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and now the Space Force. It is one of the most intriguing aircraft in the U.S. inventory. No one really knows what its mission is.
Space Force’s Delta 9, which is part of the 3rd Space Experimentation Squadron, operates the OTV. In early July 2022, one of the OTVs surpassed 908 days in space. The first OTV space flight lasted 224 days; each successive flight has lasted more than a year.
The Space Force won’t acknowledge how many X-37Bs it has, but it is believed it currently has only two. Russia claims that the OTV is a bomber designed to deliver nuclear weapons from space, but its cargo bay is tiny. While outwardly appearing like the space shuttle, its size is akin to the shuttle’s tadpole – in other words, it measures in at only one-quarter of the shuttle’s size.
No one truly knows what the OTV did in space for more than 900 days, but the fact that it did has kept Chinese and Russian leaders up at night.
X-37B. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
General Characteristics of the X-37B
The X-37B was awarded the Collier Trophy in 2020 – this is a very prominent award in aviation – for pushing “the boundaries of flight and space exploration,” according to the Air Force, which ran the program at that time.
“Sophisticated and uncrewed, the X-37B advances reusable spaceplane technologies and operates experiments in space that are returned for further examination on earth,” Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett said in a released statement.
There have been seven test flights, with four landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Three landings took place at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Primary Mission: Experimental space test vehicle
Prime Contractor: Boeing
Height: 9 feet, 6 inches (2.9 meters)
Length: 29 feet, 3 inches (8.9 meters)
Wingspan: 14 feet, 11 inches (4.5 meters)
Launch Weight: 11,000 pounds (4,990 kilograms)
Power: Gallium Arsenide Solar Cells with lithium-ion batteries
Launch Vehicles: United Launch Alliance Atlas V (501) and SpaceX Falcon 9
Boeing developed high-temperature wing leading-edge tiles and toughened uni-piece fibrous refractory oxidation-resistant ceramic (TUFROC) tiles.
Like the space shuttle, the X-37B takes off vertically from a space launch pad and is propelled by either Atlas V or SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. Once in orbit, its internal power can easily last for more than two years. It can also maneuver independently. Eventually, it lands on a runway back on Earth, just like the shuttle or a conventional aircraft.
According to Boeing, the X-37B operates at a low-Earth orbit, with an altitude between 150 and 500 miles.
X-37B Takes Off On Its Eighth Mission
On Wednesday, Aug. 21, the Space Force launched the secretive X-37B for its eighth mission.
The Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Mission 5 successfully landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility Oct. 27, 2019. The X-37B OTV is an experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Air Force.
Dubbed the OTV-8, the mission is expected to see the Boeing-made spacecraft conduct a wide range of tests and experiments focused on laser communication tech and quantum inertial sensors, according to Space Force officials.
“U.S. Space Force’s National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched the USSF-36 mission into orbit Aug. 21 from historic Launch Complex (LC)-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida,” Space Systems Command said in a press release. “The mission, carrying the U.S. Air Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) spacecraft, lifted off on schedule at 11:50 p.m. EST.”
Russia and China Claim The X-37B Is a Bomber
While technically it is possible to place small weapons on board the OTV, with its small cargo bay, an important question is: Why would you want to? Nevertheless, Russia and China insist that the OTV is a bomber.
Yan Novikov, the director-general of Russian defense technology company Almaz-Antey, claimed last year that the OTV could carry nuclear warheads. “The official story is that these platforms were developed for scientific purposes and, well, surveillance. But we understand that having these capacities and possibilities, the smaller spacecraft can carry up to three nuclear warheads,” Novikov said. He went on to claim that the U.S. is planning to expand the OTV fleet to eight by 2025. He also claimed the U.S. has two different types of OTVs, but the X-37B is currently the only one in America’s inventory.
The X-37B Is Not a Bomber, But The Idea Of It Won’t Go Away
Popular Mechanics’ Kyle Mizokami put to rest any belief that the OTV could be a bomber. First of all, the cargo bay of the small X-37B is about the size of a standard pickup-truck bed (6.9 feet long, and 3.9 feet wide).
While the subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile could conceivably carry a W-80 thermonuclear warhead, both the missile and the warhead would have to be highly modified to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere, increasing its size enough that a theoretical “XB-37B” could only carry three.
With only one or two X-37Bs in existence, carrying just three nukes isn’t going to be a game-changer against Russia in a nuclear exchange.
Further, flying in a low-Earth orbit, the X-37B would be visible to astronomers or air defense operators, so the element of surprise is lost. Even if it were able to avoid detection, a sneak attack by an X-37B would hardly make a dent in Russian ballistic missile defenses. The Russians also have air-defense missiles that can shoot down air/space vehicles in a low-Earth orbit.
While U.S. adversaries can believe what they want, the X-37B is precisely what the Space Force says it is: a reusable spacecraft that can conduct experiments and then return to Earth.
It is too small, and not nearly maneuverable enough, to be used as a space weapon. While not as exciting as a mini-U.S. “Death Star,” the OTV enables the U.S. to test new satellite technology and sensors in space.
About the Author
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
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