Here's the system I worked on from 1976 to 1979:
Here's the place a worked from 1979-1982:
Posted on 10/27/2019 11:15:29 AM PDT by BenLurkin
The Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Mission 5 successfully landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility Oct. 27, 2019 at 3:51 a.m.
The spaceplane conducted on-orbit experiments for 780 days during its mission, recently breaking its own record by being in orbit for more than two years. As of today, the total number of days spent on-orbit for the entire test vehicle program is 2,865 days.
“The X-37B continues to demonstrate the importance of a reusable spaceplane,” said Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett. “Each successive mission advances our nation’s space capabilities.”
This is the Air Force’s premier reusable and unmanned spacecraft, providing the performance and flexibility to improve technologies in a way that allows scientists and engineers to recover experiments tested in a long-duration space environment.
“The safe return of this spacecraft, after breaking its own endurance record, is the result of the innovative partnership between Government and Industry,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein. “The sky is no longer the limit for the Air Force and, if Congress approves, the U.S. Space Force.”
Managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, the X-37B program performs risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies.
“This program continues to push the envelope as the world’s only reusable space vehicle. With a successful landing today, the X-37B completed its longest flight to date and successfully completed all mission objectives,” said Randy Walden, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office director. “This mission successfully hosted Air Force Research Laboratory experiments, among others, as well as providing a ride for small satellites.”
The distinctive ability to test new systems in space and return them to Earth is unique to the X-37B program and enables the U.S. to more efficiently and effectively develop space capabilities necessary to maintain superiority in the space domain.
“This spacecraft is a key component of the space community. This milestone demonstrates our commitment to conducting experiments for America’s future space exploration,” said Lt. Col. Jonathan Keen, X-37B program manager. “Congratulations to the X-37B team for a job well done.”
This will be the second time the X-37B landed at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility--Mission 4 landed after 718 days in orbit. The spaceplane was designed for an on-orbit duration of 270 days.
“Today marks an incredibly exciting day for the 45th Space Wing,” said Brig. Gen. Doug Schiess, 45th Space Wing commander. “Our team has been preparing for this event, and I am extremely proud to see their hard work and dedication culminate in today’s safe and successful landing of the X-37B.”
The fifth mission launched on Sept. 7, 2017 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on-board a Space X Falcon 9 booster, and the U.S. Air Force is preparing to launch the sixth X-37B mission from CCAFS in 2020.
Editor's note: For more imagery, visit our X-37B feature page: https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/X37BOTV
Holy shmoboli!!!!
I don’t know what all those groups mean but that looks like a LOT of stuff in space, indeed!
>>Yup,
Ginger
Or
Maryanne?<<
MaryAnne!
It is indeed an unmanned drone, and the payload is also unmanned probably most of the time.
yes Banks was a loss to the SciFi world. But its always fun to speculate that he might have had some sort of insight and some civilization like the Culture might exist. Then putting that together with the USAF’s mysterious vehicle is a fun story - for me anyway.
Got to the question posed by the term GSV that triggered a memory. Which linked to SpaceX and Musk naming a couple of launch recovery droneship platforms at sea, after “vessels” from Bank’s series. “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Atlantic, and “Just Read the Instructions” in the Pacific.
This last mission was launched from inside a payload fairing atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, a re-useable rocket, recovered to one of those two droneships.
Say no more— ‘nudge, nudge’...
freedumb2003 ~ MaryAnne!
Red Dwarf Ping!
LISTER: Cat?
CAT: Mmm?
LISTER: Ya ever see the Flintstones?
CAT: Sure!
LISTER: D'ya think Wilma's sexy?
CAT: Wilma Flintstone?
LISTER: Maybe we've been alone in deep space too long, but every time I see that sharmi(?) body, it drives me crazy. Is it me?
CAT: Well, I think in all probability, Wilma Flintstone is the most desirable woman that ever lived.
LISTER: That's good. I thought I was goin' strange.
CAT: She's incredible!
LISTER: What d'ya think of Betty?
CAT: Betty Rubble? (Pause) Well, I would go with Betty... but I'd be thinking of Wilma.
LISTER: This is crazy. Why are we talking about going to bed with Wilma Flintstone?
CAT: You're right. We're nuts. This is an insane conversation.
LISTER: She'll never leave Fred, and we know it.
Here's the system I worked on from 1976 to 1979:
Here's the place a worked from 1979-1982:
Yes— long gone 8th Air Force B-17 pilot— survived all of his missions— including Czechoslovakia Brux oil targets and those in Leipzig. Loved good food and beer— will always remember comments one time when bringing cold Urquell Pilsner one year on Independence Day. He “teared up” when he read the label— and said “lost more than few friends over that city”. Tough Southern gentleman- like other 50% survivors of WWII in the family.
Ginger for the short term, Maryanne for the distance.
Yes, but until recently that was the domain of governments. The link I have been posting is from *non-government* sources.
Well, there have been a lot of good guesses posted here, but we have to remember that the House of Representatives is controlled by Democrats. And we all know that Democrat congress-critters are into 'science'! So my guess is, that they were dropping off a few more astronauts on Mars. Plus, conducting critical, long-distance, mass-balancing operations on Guam, to keep the island from capsizing...
;^)
could this be used as an ambulance? Taking an injured astronaut from the ISS back home to Earth?
Private tracking systems improved greatly since the first one went up. Additionally, the VVLA concept became not only a practical reality but even a cheap one.
Long version: “Stealth” involving radar absorption causes the craft to heat up. This means you can see it more clearly on infrared/thermal. You can see the vessel with a camera array, as it will block out background stars or other light sources. If the vessel uses any sort of thruster to move at all, the ejecta will be observed.
Using commercial technology of the time, the Space Shuttle firing an attitude control jet could be detected out past the solar system’s asteroid belt. Transmission by radio or using an ion thruster is even worse - it takes less than one second for a private radiotelescope to see a 20 watt source out past 18 *billion* km. Which is exactly how we locate and talk to the Voyager space probes.
There is no horizon to hide over, no ground clutter to disappear in. You can’t even hide in the sun.
More reading: http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/spacewardetect.php
Great post; informative thread. Thanks.
*ping*
Fair enough.... But I did a lot of work with Raytheon Corporation.
They did as much to make our space tracking mission successful as anyone in the government.
Yes, but at the time the only people ordering or able to afford such tech were governments. Today, private space organizations routinely buy systems that vastly exceed the capabilities of systems from 1979.
Here’s another similar case in point - one reason why smaller NATO and non-aligned nations don’t buy photo reconnaissance satellites and have them launched is because today, right now, you (or anyone else with a surprisingly low amount of money - relatively) can buy time on *commercial* privately-owned photo reconsats that have better resolution than those the US military was using in the 1990s. Let alone those used in the time you were at Raytheon.
Looks like that mare could use a rub down and some feed after all them hard miles.
Note that the combined systems whose output is displayed there can detect something unpowered, possibly made of reasonably radar absorbent materials in orbit the size of a briefcase or a little less.
And that’s all private sector stuff, which has grown up as a result of the private space revolution. If commercial space control systems can do this, what do you think government systems can see?
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