Posted on 01/29/2019 9:37:21 AM PST by BenLurkin
The robotic drone is performing classified duties during the program’s fifth flight.
The current mission — known as Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-5) — was rocketed into Earth orbit on Sept. 7, 2017, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. [The X-37B
X-37B missions are carried out under the auspices of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, and mission control for OTV flights is handled by the 3rd Space
... gathering information on objects high above Earth and carrying out other intelligence-gathering duties.
And that may be a signal as to what the robotic craft is doing — both looking down at Earth and upward.
Air Force officials haven't divulged much about the current mission. But they have revealed that one payload flying on OTV-5 is the Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader, or ASETS-II.
Developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), this cargo is testing experimental electronics and oscillating heat pipes for long-duration stints in the space environment.
According to the AFRL, the payload’s three primary science objectives are to measure the initial on-orbit thermal performance, to measure long-duration thermal performance and to assess any lifetime degradation.
Exactly when the space plane will land is unknown.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
Ping!
Methods for steathy approach & parasitically attach to and steal the take of enemy birds..?
I hope so.
*BEEP* “Mission Control, re-entry system has failed. Switch to Plan B reporting:
US Military Space Plane Wings Past {$DAY = $DAY++} Days on Latest Mystery Mission
One of its tasks just had to be checking for neutron leakage from the two North Korean satellites.
In fact this sort of task is probably the main reason it was constructed.
EMP
Good thinking. I wonder if it can take out the satellites.
Searching for PLANET X, PANIC!
It's stealthy but not stealthy enough that the guys at Heavens Above can't keep track of it. At least until it decides to disappear.
https://www.heavens-above.com/orbit.aspx?satid=39025
https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=39025
And when it vanishes they get all giddy, like kids on an Easter egg hunt, vying for the bragging rights of being the first to locate it when it reappears.
The mysterious X-37B: What's the Air Force's mini-shuttle all about? Sept. 6, 2017
The X-37B flies in low Earth orbit, up to about 250 miles high, and can stay there a long time.
Low Earth orbit does not make this a "space plane" or "space vehicle".
Could be. If the sats have nukes, the NORKS likely passed on a lot of shielding to keep weight down.
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