US Air Force's Mysterious X-37B Space Plane Passes 500 Days in Orbit

Space.com ^ | Aril 24, 2014 | Mike Wall, Senior Writer

[Telepathic Intruder]

I hate the limitation of chemical fuels, but nuclear ones tend to leave a blasted radioactive wasteland of the launch site. I like the Larry Niven solution: air compressed almost to neutron degeneracy. Is that possible? Not now, maybe later.

[minnesota_bound]

US Air Force’s Mysterious X-37B Space Plane Passes 500 Days in Orbit

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It’s stuck in orbit.

[SunkenCiv]

Ooh, interesting idea. It’s big enough to hold a rail gun and some tungsten projectiles...

[SunkenCiv]

from the wiki-wacky:

The OTV-1 X-37B in April 2010, inside its payload fairing prior to launch

[SunkenCiv]

Phil Silvers, agent X-27

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rvbg_ezlEks

[SunkenCiv]

Where enough energy is available, cheaply — such as in space — it might work, but obviously, that doesn’t get it off the ground.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degenerate_matter

[Telepathic Intruder]

I tend to like fermions more than bosons. But then I think “where would I be without bosons”? I can’t decide.

[SunkenCiv]

Cap’t Kirk probably said the same thing. In fact, pretty much any captain.

[Telepathic Intruder]

Well here's one fermion he learned to avoid. The hard way and a little too late.

[Nachoman]

“What do you mean, you forgot to load the return to earth program.”

[Delta Dawn]

The X37B is unmanned

Are the stewardesses all female then? I'm not sure, but that would seem sexist to me...

[FreedomOfExpression]

Hey, I don’t make the rules, but I do like them sometimes.

[Jacquerie]

Its in the article.

[tet68]

I was just trying to come up with some reason for
the long flight, it is curious.