In Pictures: LightSail, Meet X-37B

Written by
Jason Davis
May 8, 2015
LightSail finally met the vehicle responsible for its ride to orbit.
United Launch Alliance has released photos showing the U.S. Air Force's AFSPC-5 payload being stacked on top of an Atlas V 501 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41. The payload fairing is emblazoned with the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, a reusable space plane that takes off vertically and lands on a runway like the space shuttle.
LightSail is already encapsulated with other CubeSats inside the rocket stack, hitching a ride to orbit as part of the ULTRASat secondary payload. Launch is scheduled for May 20.
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