USAF X-37B 1 year in orbit

[TruthSeeker]

Air Force's Mysterious X-37B Space Plane Survives 1 Year in Orbit

by Leonard David, SPACE.com’s Space Insider ColumnistDate: 06 March 2012 Time: 01:02 PM ET

The U.S. Air Force's robotic X-37B space plane has celebrated a silent anniversary, surpassing an entire year in Earth orbit on a mystery mission for American military. Meanwhile, a third X-37B space plane mission is being readied, and could even launch later this year, SPACE.com has learned.

The X-37B space plane currently orbiting Earth is the second spacecraft of its kind built for the Air Force by Boeing’s Phantom Works. Known as the Orbital Test Vehicle 2, or OTV-2, its classified mission is under the wing of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.

The robotic X-37B space plane is a reusable spacecraft that resembles a miniature space shuttle. The Air Force launched the OTV-2 mission on March 5, 2011, with an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket lofting the space plane into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

"We are very pleased with the results of ongoing X-37B experiments," Air Force Lt. Col. Tom McIntyre of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office told SPACE.com. "The X-37B program is setting the standard for a reusable space plane and, on this one-year orbital milestone, has returned great value on the experimental investment," he told SPACE.com. [Photos: Inside the X-37B Mission]

What the robotic space plane has been doing in orbit for so long remains a mystery, since Air Force officials have not commented on the flight's details due to its classified nature. Outside experts, however, have suggested that the flight is testing the limits of the X-37B space plane, or possibly serving as an orbital spy platform.

McIntyre dropped no hints, except to suggest that the next X-37B flight could launch later this year.

"Upon completion of all objectives, we look forward to bringing the mission to a safe, successful conclusion. The next program phase, the third X-37B mission, has been tentatively planned for the fall of 2012," McIntyre said.

Each X-37B space plane is about 29 feet (8.8 meters) long and 15 feet (4.5 meters) wide. It has a payload bay about the size of a pickup truck bed. It is outfitted with a deployable solar array power system. What’s inside that payload bay, and what functions they serve, are classified.

Like NASA's now-retired space shuttle, the X-37B space planes are capable of returning experiments to Earth for inspection and analysis, as well as re-flight of equipment.

The maiden voyage of an X-37B space plane, the OTV-1 mission, launched in 2010 on a flight that lasted 225 days. That initial mission spacecraft lifted off on April 22 and landed on Dec. 3, gliding onto a specially prepared runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

So far, the OTV-2 mission has set an endurance record for the X-37B space plane — one that gets longer with each passing day — and the spacecraft is in good health, Air Force officials said.

According to Air Force Maj. Tracy Bunko, a Pentagon spokesperson for the X-37B program, "the mission is still on track and the vehicle is performing well."

Bunko said the flight of the vehicle is being extending as circumstances allow, in order to obtain maximum value out of the mission. "We don’t know when we'll land, but we regularly evaluate that based on test objectives."

The X-37B space plane originated as a NASA spacecraft research project, but lack of funding led the agency to transfer the program to the Defense Advanced Research Agency in 2004. The Air Force took control of the project in 2006, and has launched two apparently successful missions so far.
USAF X-37B Robot Space Plane Hits 1 Year in Orbit | Space Weapons | Space.com

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Probbly just a plane with missiles to knock out military settelites of other nations etc what else Uncle same militarizes space

 

[anon45]

Probbly just a plane with missiles to knock out military settelites of other nations etc what else Uncle same militarizes space

You wish it was so. The sensor suite on this craft is far more dangerous.

 

[Invincible INDIAN]

5 planes like this can bring countries like Russia or China to their knees.

 

[nomi007]

5 planes like this can bring countries like Russia or China to their knees.

russia and china also making their x-37
chinese x-37 detail
Images of an aerodynamic scaled model, ready to be launched from under the fuselage of a H-6K bomber, were first published in the Chinese media on 11 December 2007. Code named Project 863-706, the Chinese name of this spacecraft was revealed as “神龙”空天飞机 or "Shenlong Space Plane", meaning Divine Dragon in Mandarin. These images, possibly taken in late 2005, show the vehicle's black reentry heat shielding, indicating a reusable design, and its engine assembly.[3]

It has been proposed that the vehicle is fitted with a Russian-designed D-30K turbofan engine, which would likely not provide enough power to reach Low Earth orbit. A larger Shenlong model, however, would be capable of carrying a payload to orbit. Analysts had previously reported on a late 2006 Chinese test flight of what is believed to be a super-ramjet demonstrator, possibly related to the Shenlong vehicle.[3]

Earlier, images of the High-enthalpy Shock Waves Laboratory wind tunnel of the CAS Key Laboratory of high-temperature gas dynamics (LHD) where published in the Chinese media. Test with speed up to Mach 20 where reached around 2001.[4]

According to CAS academician Zhuang Fenggan (莊逢&#29976, a first test flight of the spaceplane will be conducted during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan", meaning from 2006 to 2010.

International Assessment and Strategy Center > Research > PLA and U.S. Arms Racing in the Western Pacific

 

[Gnimgnay]

russia and china also making their x-37
chinese x-37 detail
Images of an aerodynamic scaled model, ready to be launched from under the fuselage of a H-6K bomber, were first published in the Chinese media on 11 December 2007. Code named Project 863-706, the Chinese name of this spacecraft was revealed as “神龙”空天飞机 or "Shenlong Space Plane", meaning Divine Dragon in Mandarin. These images, possibly taken in late 2005, show the vehicle's black reentry heat shielding, indicating a reusable design, and its engine assembly.[3]

It has been proposed that the vehicle is fitted with a Russian-designed D-30K turbofan engine, which would likely not provide enough power to reach Low Earth orbit. A larger Shenlong model, however, would be capable of carrying a payload to orbit. Analysts had previously reported on a late 2006 Chinese test flight of what is believed to be a super-ramjet demonstrator, possibly related to the Shenlong vehicle.[3]

Earlier, images of the High-enthalpy Shock Waves Laboratory wind tunnel of the CAS Key Laboratory of high-temperature gas dynamics (LHD) where published in the Chinese media. Test with speed up to Mach 20 where reached around 2001.[4]

According to CAS academician Zhuang Fenggan (莊逢&#29976, a first test flight of the spaceplane will be conducted during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan", meaning from 2006 to 2010.

International Assessment and Strategy Center > Research > PLA and U.S. Arms Racing in the Western Pacific

Surprising info leaks... You know, Sunzi said:"war is an art of deception."...They should have hide it better.
Objectively, China may be still 20-40 years' behind US in the field of space tech.

 

[Gnimgnay]

Hmm, can things be easier that military maintains these type of planes in the orbit and calls it to enter the atmosphere during the war.

 

[Safriz]

USA will have only themselves to blame if space becomes weaponed......something that hasnt happened until now...
obviously other countries will feel threatened by this "secret mission" and launch their own version of space attack vehicles...

 

[gubbi]

USA will have only themselves to blame if space becomes weaponed......something that hasnt happened until now...

Actually it has happened before- militarization of space - by none other than Russia.
Salyut-3

On-board gun
The Salyut 3 station was equipped with a "self-defence" gun, which had been designed for use aboard the station, and whose design is attributed to Nudelman.[1] Some accounts claim the station was equipped with a Nudelman-Rikhter "Vulkan" gun, which was a variant of the 23 mm Nudelmann aircraft cannon, or possibly a Nudelmann NR-30 30 mm gun.[11] These claims have reportedly been verified by Pavel Popovich, who had visited the station in orbit, as Commander of Soyuz 14.[11] Due to potential shaking of the station, in-orbit tests of the weapon with cosmonauts in the station were ruled out.[1] The gun was fixed to the station in such a way that the only way to aim would have been to change the orientation of the entire station.[11][1] Following the last manned mission to the station, the gun was commanded by the ground to be fired; some sources say it was fired to depletion,[11] while other sources say three test firings took place during the Salyut 3 mission.[1]

Also this:
The TP-82 pistol

The TP-82 pistol (Russian: ТП-82) is a triple-barreled Soviet firearm that was carried by cosmonauts on space missions.
It is intended as a survival aid to be used after landings and before recovery in the Siberian wilderness. The upper two smoothbore barrels use 12.5×70 mm ammunition, or approximately 40 gauge, and the lower rifled barrel uses 5.45×39mm ammunition. The pistol can be used for hunting, to defend against predators and for visible and audible distress signals. The detachable buttstock is also a machete that comes with a canvas sheath.
TP-82s were carried regularly on Soviet and Russian space missions from 1986 to 2006. They were part of the Soyuz Portable Emergency-Survival Kit (Носимый аварийный запас, Nosimyi Avariynyi Zapas, NAZ). In 2007, the media reported that the remaining ammunition for the TP-82 had become unusable and that a regular semi-automatic pistol would be used on future missions.

 

[gambit]

USA will have only themselves to blame if space becomes weaponed......something that hasnt happened until now...
obviously other countries will feel threatened by this "secret mission" and launch their own version of space attack vehicles...

No one, not even US, come even halfway close to the 'militarization' of space. To 'militarized' space mean there must be a LONG TERM deployment of a weapon. Not a carrier of weapons. Not a potential carrier of weapons. But an orbital platform that is used predominantly for military purposes and whose main rotating cargo is a weapon.

Get it?

 

[TruthSeeker]

Air Force's Secretive X-37B Space Plane Will Land Soon

by Leonard David, 30 May 2012 Time: 03:45 PM ET

After more than a year in space, the U.S. Air Force's secretive robotic space plane, the X-37B, is coming down soon.

That's the word today (May 30) from officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the site where the reusable miniature space shuttle will land in the next few weeks, technical and weather conditions permitting.

While the exact landing date and time of the unmanned X-37B space plane is not yet determined, according to a Vandenberg Air Force Base statement, the craft’s touchdown "is expected to occur during the early- to mid-June timeframe."

Preparations for the second landing of the X-37B are now underway at the Air Force base. "The men and women of Team Vandenberg are ready to execute safe landing operations anytime and at a moment’s notice," said Col. Nina Armagno, 30th Space Wing commander.

Vandenberg is considered the mostly likely primary landing site for X-37B. Edwards Air Force Base, also in California, serves as a backup landing strip.

The Air Force's 30th Space Wing will monitor the re-entry and self-guided landing of the second X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle mission, called OTV-2.

This second flight of the winged X-37B space plane design began with a launch on March 5, 2011. It was lofted into Earth orbit by an Atlas 5 booster from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.


Classified payload

The space plane now circling Earth is the second spacecraft of its kind built for the Air Force by Boeing’s Phantom Works. What payload the X-37B is carrying is classified, and the mission is being carried out by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.

Each X-37B space plane is about 29 feet (8.8 meters) long and 15 feet (4.5 m) wide. The vehicle has a payload bay about the size of a pickup truck bed and is outfitted with a deployable solar panel to generate power.

In an earlier email message, U.S. Air Force Maj. Tracy Bunko, the Pentagon's spokesperson for the X-37B project, told SPACE.com that a third flight of an X-37B spacecraft — slated for liftoff this fall — will use the same craft that flew the first test flight, the OTV-1 mission, in 2010.

The first voyage of the X-37B space plane launched into orbit on April 22, 2010, and lasted 225 days. That craft landed on Dec. 3, zooming in on autopilot over the Pacific Ocean and gliding down onto a specially prepared runway at Vandenberg.

USAF X-37B Space Plane Landing Soon | Secret X-37B Project | Space.com

 

[LeGenD]

Amazing accomplishment and display of US technological superiority. Aircraft like this have immense potential for military purposes. One more reason to not underestimate USA.

USA will have only themselves to blame if space becomes weaponed......something that hasnt happened until now...
obviously other countries will feel threatened by this "secret mission" and launch their own version of space attack vehicles...

Bro, the concept of weaponization of space is not a new one. This process began during COLD WAR period. US Space Shuttle had military utility as well.

However, X-37B is a big leap over Space Shuttle. With these kinds of aircraft, US will ensure its dominance of the air space in the conflicts of the future.

And this feat is not easy to accomplish. Many nations do not possess the technology and funds to pursue this kind of program.

 

[killerx]

yea yea congrats USA got the most sat up in space who will hace more targets to pratice on

 

[Oldman1]

yea yea congrats USA got the most sat up in space who will hace more targets to pratice on

You mean something like the U.S. Navy did that blew up a satellite from a warship which was a practice coverup? I heard China was outraged by it.

 

[Thomas]

It's funny to watch the reactions of people to what is in effect a combination re-usable sattelite/mini space shuttle. It can operate as a sensors platform or deploy payloads.

Who knows maybe it is deploying stealth satellites such as the image below or maybe that is a MIRV that drops to its target............