X 37B found in orbit for second time by South African observer.
One again South African sky watcher Greg Roberts based in Cape Town was first to spot the X-37B.
Orbital Test Vehicle 2 (OTV2) launched on March the 5th, Ted Molczan of Toronto developed a set of orbital elements based chiefly on last year’s OTV-1 flight to help amateur observers find the X-37B in orbit
On March 9, Molczan announced that OTV-2 had been sighted by satellite tracker Greg Roberts of Cape Town, South Africa. Roberts spotted the spacecraft “in difficult observing conditions,” Molczan reported.
Within days, other observers made sightings as well.
The orbital inclination of the space plane has been determined by Molczan to be 42.8 degrees with respect to Earth’s equator, which means it can appear over regions as far north as Boston; as far south as New Zealand’s South Island.
Kevin Fetter filmed the vehicle on March
If you would like to try and see it for yourself the excellent Heavens Above web site are running predictions. You will need to register for free and then click select another satellite under the Satellites heading. Enter 37375 into the US Space Command ID a new page with open and a link to OTV2 predictions will be at the top of the page.
