Boeing officials say the company’s Orbital Express system transferred propellant and a battery from one spacecraft to another, “marking industry firsts for the revolutionary system.” The Orbital Express was one of the six spacecraft launched March 8 aboard an Atlas V evolved expendable launch vehicle. The Boeing Autonomous Space Transport Robotic Operations (ASTRO) servicing spacecraft transferred the propellant and a battery to a prototype receiving NextSat spacecraft developed by Ball Aerospace.
The B-52H Stratofortress that crashed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on June 15 was helping test a new advanced radar that is key to a sweeping modernization of the six-decade old bomber.