Sunday, November 13, 2022

When the awesome seems ordinary

We are at a civilizational moment when the most amazing things are taken for granted.  I have not seen much coverage of this amazing accomplishment.  From U.S. military space plane lands, ending record-breaking mission by Matt Bernardini.  

Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. military's X-37B space plane finally came back to Earth on Saturday after spending 908 days in orbit.

The robotic X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-6 touched down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:22 a.m. The 908 days in orbit was four months longer than any previous X-37B flight.

The plane, which was built by Boeing, also carried a service module for the first time.

"With the service module added, this was the most we've ever carried to orbit on the X-37B, and we're proud to have been able to prove out this new and flexible capability for the government and its industry partners," Jim Chilton, senior vice president at Boeing Space and Launch, said in a statement.

And as remarkable as this specific achievement is, it stands in a forest of such achievements.

According to Space.com, while OTV-6 set a new mission-duration record for the X-37B program, it didn't come close to the overall spaceflight mark.

The International Space Station has been continuously occupied by rotating astronaut crews since November 2000, and NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes remain operational in interstellar space more than 45 years after lifting off.

When the awesome seems ordinary.

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