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Air Force's X-37B mini-shuttle shrouded in secrecy
http://www.freep.com/usatoday/article/1756923?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle in the encapsulation cell at the Astrotech facility in April 2010, in Titusville, Fla. Air Force officials are scheduled to launch the third X-37B mission Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012.
Air Force's X-37B mini-shuttle shrouded in secrecy
3:52 PM, December 9, 2012
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The military's mysterious mini-shuttle is set to launch this week on a classified mission that has captured the imaginations of everyone from amateur satellite trackers to anti-nuclear protestors and potential military adversaries Russia and China.
Built by Boeing's secretive Phantom Works in Huntington Beach, Calif., the Air Force X-37B spacecraft is rumored to be everything from a space bomber to a satellite-killer or a test-bed for advanced spy satellite sensors.
~snip~
"Inquiring minds want to know, right?" said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a leading source of defense, space and intelligence information.
"But posing this question presumes that (the mini-shuttle) does serve some specific purpose. And I think that might be imposing greater rationality on the whole thing than is warranted."
