A Supersecret Spacecraft Comes Back to Earth After Two Years
Source: Bloomberg
The U.S. Air Force has kept an unmanned space shuttle in orbit for the past two years, and it seems no one without security clearance knows what it’s been doing up there.
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, which can enter orbit and land without human intervention, is scheduled to touch down this week—the best guess is sometime on Tuesday—at Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Santa Barbara, Calif. The landing will mark completion of the program’s third and longest mission, which was launched on Dec. 11, 2012. The Air Force has two such spacecraft for these low-earth orbit missions, all of which are classified, as are the precise launch and landing times.
“The mission is basically top secret,” says Captain Chris Hoyler, an Air Force spokesman. The X-37B program came from technologies developed by Boeing (BA), NASA, the Air Force, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa).
Boeing’s description of the craft says the Air Force uses it to “explore reusable space vehicle technologies in support of long-term space objectives.” Hoyler described the X-37B as a test platform “to advance the state of the art” in areas such as “thermal protection systems, solar power systems, thermal control, environmental modeling, autonomous control and landing, and control algorithms.”
The one definitive thing the Air Force will say about the X-37B is that it has no plans to develop a manned version. The spacecraft measures 29 feet long and 9.5 feet high, about one-fifth the size of the retired NASA space shuttles that seem to have inspired its appearance. It has a payload bay that opens in space, just like the larger space shuttles. The first X-37 mission ended in December 2010 after almost eight months in orbit.
Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-14/x-37b-super-secret-spaceship-comes-back-to-earth-after-two-years
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Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)jtuck004
(15,882 posts)Demeter
(85,373 posts)branford
(4,462 posts)
valerief
(53,235 posts)
defacto7
(13,485 posts)valerief
(53,235 posts)defacto7
(13,485 posts)they were growing bananas. I probably would have gotten the same reply.
Javaman
(62,521 posts)
christx30
(6,241 posts)more useful to the average human. Heck, show my dog a drone, and she couldn't give a rip. Show my dog a banana, and she goes nuts. Loves em.
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)I suspect that they are most likely using it as a surveillance platform. It is POSSIBLE it could be used as, say, an anti-satellite platform, but I suspect we would have heard more rumblings.
Lurks Often
(5,455 posts)or possibly even the first generation of space based kinetic energy weapons (essentially guided rocks hitting a target at re-entry speeds). Down the road, scaled up and down as needed, the next generation of Space Shuttle and if they can get the cost down to something reasonable, commercial sub-orbital passenger transport.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)reminds me of them keeping the F-117 Stealth Jet a complete secret for 11 years before "officially" unveiling it..
Fearless
(18,421 posts)And I ain't talking about the movies.
Ichingcarpenter
(36,988 posts)Coincidence? I don't think so.
I'm kidding
Anyway here are 5 theories on what it does
five theories:
1. Testing or launching spy satellites
Amateur astronomers who studied the earlier incarnation of the X-37B theorize that the craft is testing sensors for a new generation of secret spy satellites. The military craft, the stargazers told The New York Times, repeatedly passes over the same region — a "common feature of U.S. imaging reconnaisance satellites." Tellingly, the aircraft's "payload bay is the size of a small pickup truck bed," which suggests that it could be used to deploy or capture small satellites.
2. Taking out "enemy" satellites... with spraypaint
Some speculate that the spacecraft could contain technology to put rival countries' satellites out of orbit, or destroy them completely. "Simply by spraying a satellite black, you can put it out of action because it will overheat very quickly," says defense journalist Bill Sweetman, as quoted in TechNewsWorld. If the shuttle contained some kind of remote-controlled spraypaint machine, it could easily destroy "enemy" satellites. "Not to sound too conspiratorial," says Sweetman, "but once the satellite went down, it would look like an accidental failure."
3. Dropping "Rods from God" on enemy targets
Such a reusable space plane offers the U.S. "unheard-of" potential for quick, surprise launches, says Space.com. It could be fitted with a "weapon to drop tungsten rods," nicknamed "Rods from God," on targets back on earth. The Chinese military apparently fears this scenario, adds the Los Angeles Times. Chinese professor Li Daguang wrote that the X-37B would soon be "capable of taking military actions" against the enemies of the U.S.
4. Doing things we can't even imagine
All of these theories ignore the fact that "simpler spacecraft" can already do these things "better and cheaper," says David Axe at Wired. A simple capsule and parachute is sufficient to retrieve items from space, for example, and building a disposable spacecraft is far cheaper than equipping a vehicle with the fuel and technology it needs to return. It seems the X-37B is "capable of something — or a mix of things — we outsiders haven't yet imagined."
5. Doing nothing at all
"It is difficult to find a mission for which the space plane makes sense," say Laura Grego and David Wright at All Things Nuclear. Even a space weapon would be practically useless when compared to our technology on the ground. In fact, the shuttle's "only unique capability" seems to be its ability to return from orbit and land on its own. Could it be that the Pentagon is spending billions of dollars just to "keep the space-plane concept alive," even though it is both expensive and ineffective?
http://theweek.com/article/index/212840/the-air-force-shuttles-secret-mission-5-theories
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)It reminds me of people who say it's not worth it to develop solar power, because fossil fuels will always be cheaper and more efficient.
Ichingcarpenter
(36,988 posts)I do think this project is against international space agreements on weaponizing space and is not a scientific endeavor. But we do want we want these days as Cartman would say.
Anyway I found it interesting the timing of this plane is landing now that lockheed martin announced their mini fusion reactor at the same time more or less.
Both projects were developed by the skunkworks at Groom Lake.
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)But my bet is that they are going up with small, disposable "cube satellites" that are intended for surveillance. They can probably fit a few dozen in that cargo bay, and if a hot spot develops in the world, just reposition the X-37 and deploy a few of these things. When you're empty, come back and get more. If they turn the X-37 around and relaunch it in a few months, I think that would all but prove that hypothesis.
That would be MUCH cheaper and more efficient that launching full-sized sats, or having to reposition a larger satellite just to get a lookey-loo.
daleo
(21,317 posts)It is a tricky business.
daleo
(21,317 posts)Maybe grabbing dead satellites of other nations to snoop on their technology. Maybe picking up a live U.S. satellite, though it is hard to imagine why. Maybe the purpose is just to spend money.
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)No reason to have the X-37 in orbit for 2 years just to retrieve a satellite.
tclambert
(11,085 posts)Demeter
(85,373 posts)If it were for a good reason, we would know about it.
roamer65
(36,745 posts)
Calista241
(5,586 posts)
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)
KoKo
(84,711 posts)K&R..
