TimelineConfirmed15 Dec 2014 00:00 UTCISR / remote-control lineage
Orion 80-hour remotely controlled flight
December 2014 · 1,000 lb ballast · fuel for ~37 more hours
Contractor-confirmed endurance after MH370. This was flight 18 and carried 1,000 lb of ballast. Shows the air vehicle matured; does not rewind payload status to March.
Aurora timeline. The June/July 2014 120-hour demonstration as planned in PB2015 is a separate milestone — check whether it occurred as planned or slipped into this December flight. Combined with the maiden flight (no mission system), both ends of the known sortie list fail as ISR-payload proof. Payload on flights 2–17 remains open.
Sources
- Aurora corporate timeline
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TimelineConfirmed15 Dec 2014
Orion flight 18 — 80-hour record with 1,000 lb ballast
December 2014 · not an ISR-payload demonstration
Open questionOpen