DARPA is now running the X-37 program.
A few days ago, Space News reported that NASA had turned the X-37 program over to an unnamed government agency. NASA spokesman Michael Braukus has now confirmed that DARPA was the government agency in question.
The X-37, designed to operate in both the orbital and reentry phases of flight, is also a technology demonstrator for the Air Force Research Laboratory’s space maneuver vehicle, which could be used for a number of missions including:
- Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance of ground targets (with either integrated or deployable ISR satellite)
- Deployment and recovery of microsatellites (e.g. Space Control Satellites)
- Rapid constellation replenishment
Boeing is the prime contractor.
