Un manned space plane lands on its own after 2 years

Un manned space plane lands on its own after 2 years

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Discussion

Pesty

Original Poster:

42,655 posts

263 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
quotequote all
Cool but what's the purpose? Cargo bay is small.

Spy satelite that can change orbit quickly ? Come back refuel and go up again?

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/military-space-plane-l...

MartG

21,252 posts

211 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
quotequote all
Experimental payload....


Ozone

3,053 posts

194 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
quotequote all
It's for capturing 'unfriendly' spy satellites Bond style, crushing them in to a small cube in the cargo bay and releasing it back in to space and move on to the next one. The plane has come back for a service and check over.


Maybe.

wink

Eric Mc

122,861 posts

272 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
quotequote all
The X-37 is a test spacecraft. It is developing techniques and technology that may be used in a larger vehicle.

As you can see, the Shuttle concept is not dead - it's just in the hands of the military now.

MartG

21,252 posts

211 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
The X-37 is a test spacecraft. It is developing techniques and technology that may be used in a larger vehicle.

As you can see, the Shuttle concept is not dead - it's just in the hands of the military now.
I wonder if it has the same crossrange capability they demanded from the Shuttle, which necessitated its large wings - NASA's original designs had much smaller ( and lighter ) wings.

Eric Mc

122,861 posts

272 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
quotequote all
In proportion to the size of the vehicle, the X-37's wings seem to be close to those of the Shuttle. If that is the case, the cross range might be broadly similar.

I am sure the USAF would still love a spacecraft that they could launch from Vandenberg Air Force base on a polar orbit and have it land 90 minutes later back at Vandenberg - which was what the cross range specification was all about.

anonymous-user

61 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
quotequote all
It's worth considering what sort of "test" takes 2 years?

I.E. we are not talking about quick systems capability tests, but long term durability in a orbiting environment. Precisely the sort of tests the US military would love to do on the ISS, but which they are, wisely, prohibited from doing!

I can imagine a huge range of systems that would benefit from a long exposure test, from communications to surveillance etc. Having a relatively cheap and "recoverable" test bed capability must make the R&D and production of long term non recoverable orbiting space assets enormously easier.

Eric Mc

122,861 posts

272 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
quotequote all
I think the key word is "flexibility". The US military had hoped the Space Shuttle would provide them with this flexible capability. It couldn't.

Any future system must have this.

Mojocvh

16,837 posts

269 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
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As said before, is there only one of them?

Eric Mc

122,861 posts

272 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
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No one knows for sure - but only one has been in space at any one time.

KareemK

1,110 posts

126 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
No one knows for sure - but only one has been in space at any one time.
It was the second flight for this X-37B. The same plane circled the planet for more than seven months in 2010. A second X-37B spacecraft blasted off in March 2011 and spent more than a year in orbit.

Eric Mc

122,861 posts

272 months

Saturday 18th October 2014
quotequote all
ash73 said:
Deeply impressive bit of kit, but the payload capacity is very limited. I wish they'd put as much effort (and money) into getting a manned flight to Mars.
Who's "they"?

The US Department of Defense (which is funding the X-37) does not have, at the moment anyway, much call for manned Mars missions.