Posted on 05/09/2019 7:09:09 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The reusable robotic vehicle, which looks like a miniature version of NASA's space shuttle orbiters, launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 7, 2017.
It's unclear what exactly the spacecraft is doing up there. X-37B missions are classified, and Air Force officials tend to speak of project goals in general terms, as this excerpt from the X-37B fact sheet shows: "The primary objectives of the X-37B are twofold: reusable spacecraft technologies for America's future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth."
Still, the Air Force does divulge some payloads flying on X-37B missions. For example, we know that OTV-5 includes the Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader experiment (ASETS-II), which is measuring the performance of electronics and oscillating heat pipes in the space environment.
The Air Force has at least two X-37B vehicles, both of which were built by Boeing. Each space plane is 29 feet (8.8 meters) long and 9.6 feet (2.9 m) tall, with a wingspan of almost 15 feet (4.6 m). The solar-powered spacecraft have payload bays about the size of a pickup-truck bed.
OTV-5 is not, so far, the longest-duration X-37B mission, though the outing will earn that distinction if the established pattern holds: Each OTV flight has lasted longer than its predecessors.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Thanks for the post and ping!
Maybe Occam’s razor does apply. Maybe the space craft is just a platform for expanding scientific knowledge.
But would like to think that the F-350 long bed cargo bay contains some Rods of God.
Painting chicom satellites.
Uh, huh. It’s doing more than that. But what? That’s the question.
What color?
I’m thinking we have working stasis technology, and it’s being tested in a zero-G environment (with human guinea pig on board).
I think they’re spying on Chinese spy satellites, trying to intercept & analyze the take, gaining a hold on what aspects of the US military reallly interest the PRC.
Flourescent yellow so our space force pilots can see them better.
What does that look like ?
Exactly what I was thinking. The primary goals would be achieved if used!
I had an idea, but had to look up the definition.
Stasis (”stays the same”(?) regards “hibernation” type stuff for long-term travel.
Interesting theory!
Checking low-orbit satellites for neutron emissions.
That’s what I would put up there if I was choosing.
Those low-flyers pose an EMP risk.
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