THE TOP SECRET SPACEPLANE
I am glad to introduce you my first Space-themed MOC: a 1:25 scale model of the Boeing X-37B spaceplane, a reusable robotic spacecraft operated by the United States Space Force!
In 1999 NASA began the development of the X-37 – also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) – that was then transferred to the United Stated Department of Defense in 2004.
The first flight of the X-37 was a drop test performed in April 2006, while the first real mission was launched on April 22, 2010.
The OTV-1,2,3,4 and 6 missions have been launched from Cape Canaveral SLC-41 atop the Atlas V rocket, while the OTV-5 was launched from Kennedy Space Center pad 39A on a Falcon 9 rocket.
All missions then landed successfully at Vandenberg air base or Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility.
Inspired by the latest beautiful LEGO Set “NASA Space Shuttle Discovery”, I decided to do a MOC of the other smaller but charming shuttle of the United States, probably not very well known: the X-37.
But making it at the Discovery’s scale (1:70) would have been too small and so I opted for a larger scale (1:25) that allowed me to design more details and functionalities; this model has a lot of moving parts and internal particularities!
For the first time I used a Submodel technique while designing this MOC, so also the Instructions are really different from those that I made for my precedent projects; they are easier and more fun to follow, I also entered some captions that will make you discover the details and wonders of this vehicle!
As already mentioned, this model has many features and moving parts, let’s see them:
MOC features:
– Retractable landing gears
– Tiltable flaperons and elevon
– Deployable landing spoiler
– Openable payload bay
– Deployable solar panel
This model also has many internal details of the X-37’s OTV-6 mission configuration:
– NASA Experiments and FalconSAT-8 Satellite inside the payload bay
– Head compartment with avionics
– Nitrogen Tetroxide (NTO) and Hydrazine (N2H4) tanks before and after the payload bay
– Combustion chamber behind the propeller
MOC specifications:
Scale: 1:25
Parts count: 1288 (1160 main model + 128 stand)
Size in inches: 14,9 x 8,2 x 4,3
Size in centimeters: 37,8 x 20,9 x 10,9
Size in bricks: 47,3 x 26,1 x 13,7
Height of the model above the stand: 8,4 in / 21,4 cm / 26,8 studs
Approximate weight: 0,83 kg / 29,1 oz
Year: 2021
Designed by Bruno Sericano