X-37A

Mission Profile

X-37A was an atmospheric drop test vehicle used by NASA and Boeing to validate the aerodynamic design, stability, and structural behavior of the X-37 spacecraft configuration at subsonic speeds, conducting a series of captive carry and free-flight drop tests beginning on 7 April 2006 from a White Knight carrier aircraft over the Mojave Desert. The subscale prototype tested the landing approach profile and verified the control surface design that was subsequently incorporated into the operational X-37B. X-37A successfully demonstrated the difficult crosswind landing performance of the spacecraft's unique lifting-body shape, providing high-confidence data that reduced risk before the full-scale X-37B was committed to orbital flight in 2010.