Posted on 04/03/2010 7:41:22 PM PDT by Touch Not the Cat
After a decade of development, the Air Force this month plans to launch a robotic spacecraft resembling a small space shuttle to conduct technology tests in orbit and then glide home to a California runway.
The ultimate purpose of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and details about the craft, which has been passed between several government agencies, however, remain a mystery as it is prepared for launch April 19 from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The quietly scheduled launch culminates the project's long and expensive journey from NASA to the Pentagon's research and development arm and then to a secretive Air Force unit.
While the massive space shuttles have been likened to cargo-hauling trucks, the X-37B is more like a sports car, with the equivalent trunk capacity.
Built by Boeing Co.'s Phantom Works, the 11,000-pound craft is 9 1/2 feet tall and just over 29 feet long, with a wingspan of less than 15 feet. It has two angled tail fins rather than a single vertical stabilizer.
Unlike the shuttle, it will be launched like a satellite, housed in a fairing atop an expendable Atlas V rocket, and deploy solar panels to provide electrical power in orbit.
Unlike the shuttle, it will be launched like a satellite, housed in a fairing atop an expendable Atlas V rocket, and deploy solar panels to provide electrical power in orbit.
The Air Force released only a general description of the mission objectives: testing of guidance, navigation, control, thermal protection and autonomous operation in orbit, re-entry and landing.
The mission's length was not released but the Air Force said the X-37B can stay in orbit for 270 days. The primary landing site will be northwest of Los Angeles at coastal Vandenberg Air Force Base.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
.
ping
"This undated image released by the U.S. Air Force shows the X-37B spacecraft. The Air Force is preparing to launch this robotic spacecraft that resembles a small space shuttle to perform unspecified technology tests in orbit and then autonomously glide on stubby wings to a landing on a California runway. Originally intended to be launched from a space shuttle, the reusable X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle has been a decade in development." (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force)
Too bad we don’t have a replacement for the space shuttle. But Lie-mate Change, and helping Islamic countries is a much better goal for NASA.
Those wings look quite stubby, they must be getting significant lift out of the shape of the fuselage.
But certainly sized for This
I guess we will never know if it carries science or KH stuff.
.
Interesting.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.