Finally an image of X-37B / OTV-5 Space Plane
Taken by Ralf Vandebergh on July 2, 2019 @
the Netherlands
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Details:
I have been hunting for the OTV-5 since months and saw it visually in May. When I tried to observe it again mid June, it didn't meet the predicted time and path. It turned out to have maneuvered to another orbit. Thanks to the amateur satellite observers-network, it was rapidly found in orbit again and I was able to take some images on June 30 and July 2. This most recent pass was almost overhead. The OTV is a small version of the classic Space Shuttle, it is really a small object, even at only 300 km altitude, so don't expect the detail level of ground based images of the real Space Shuttle. Considering this, the attached images succeeded beyond expectations. We can recognize a bit of the nose, Payload Bay and tail of this mini-shuttle with even a sign of some smaller detail.
Images were taken through a 10 inch F/4,8 aperture Newtonian telescope with an Astrolumina ALccd 5L-11 mono CMOS camera. Tracking was fully manually through a 6x30 finderscope.
Photographer's website:
http://www.ralfvandebergh-astrophotography.simpsite.nl/home
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