Skip to comments.
Aviation Week: Did The Pentagon Build A Secret Spaceplane?
Aviation Week ^
| 3-5-2006
| William B. Scott
Posted on 03/06/2006 5:59:51 AM PST by DesScorp
click here to read article
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-40, 41-46 next last
Lots of fascinating stuff here, including a theory that a carrier craft for the spaceplane was a modernized version of the classic XB-70 Valkyrie bomber prototype.
1
posted on
03/06/2006 5:59:54 AM PST
by
DesScorp
To: DesScorp
The XB-70 was a big plane.
2
posted on
03/06/2006 6:01:20 AM PST
by
BenLurkin
(O beautiful for patriot dream - that sees beyond the years)
To: DesScorp; All
A large "mothership," closely resembling the U.S. Air Force's historic XB-70 supersonic bomber, carries the orbital component conformally under its fuselage.Calypso Louie was right!
3
posted on
03/06/2006 6:03:38 AM PST
by
governsleastgovernsbest
(Watching the Today Show Since 2002 So You Don't Have To.)
To: governsleastgovernsbest
Calypso Louie was right! Thanks GLGB. I now have coffee on my shirt, keyboard, and desktop....
4
posted on
03/06/2006 6:07:38 AM PST
by
theDentist
(Qwerty ergo typo : I type, therefore I misspelll.)
To: DesScorp
Boeing, eh?
I remember asking about the aurora to a Lockheed guy doing talks on the JSF, and his eyes kind of froze glazed up & said he could not talk about such things. To which I screamed in ethusiasm: so there is an Aurora! and he kind of kept frozen with a grin and then moved to the next question.
5
posted on
03/06/2006 6:08:56 AM PST
by
JudgemAll
(Condemn me, make me naked and kill me, or be silent for ever on my gun ownership and law enforcement)
To: DesScorp
6
posted on
03/06/2006 6:09:18 AM PST
by
aft_lizard
(What does G-d look like then if we evolved from nothing?See Genesis Ch 1:26-27)
To: governsleastgovernsbest
"Calypso Louie"....heh heh....
Seriously though....I saw the XB-70 as a child at Wright Pat in Ohio, and I've been in love ever since. Nothing quite like that plane...
7
posted on
03/06/2006 6:09:50 AM PST
by
DesScorp
To: DesScorp
8
posted on
03/06/2006 6:12:15 AM PST
by
freedumb2003
(American troops cannot be defeated. American Politicians can.)
To: DesScorp
Seriously though....I saw the XB-70 as a child at Wright Pat in Ohio, and I've been in love ever since. Nothing quite like that plane... You got lots of company. That was perhaps the most graceful-looking aircraft ever built, and I could never believe that they only built (and destroyed) three copies...
9
posted on
03/06/2006 6:14:19 AM PST
by
Publius6961
(Multiculturalism is the white flag of a dying country)
To: DesScorp
If this actually exists, I would expect that it is not functional for getting to orbit. Assuming the government had developed a new launch vehicle like this, NASA's shuttle woes would be solved. The launch system, in and of itself, should not need to be kept secret, since it is just another orbital delivery system. If elements of the system need to be classified that can still be done, even is the launch system were in civilian hands. The military allowed NASA to use the Redstone rocket for the Mercury program, and NASA used to handle classified military payloads on the shuttle, so a precedent for classified military hardware used in the civilian program already exists. While I have never been particularly impressed with government competence, the redundant launch systems would be incredibly wasteful.
10
posted on
03/06/2006 6:16:31 AM PST
by
The_Victor
(If all I want is a warm feeling, I should just wet my pants.)
To: Publius6961
Apparently the XB-70 was put out to pasture in the black world.
To: DesScorp
![](http://www.draxium.com/images/ft.jpg)
Sounds like the rumors generated about the "Aurora Project" when the SR-71 was retired.
12
posted on
03/06/2006 6:19:51 AM PST
by
edpc
To: DesScorp
For me, this story calls into question all of that UFO / alien tech / antigravity / black triangle stuff. Why would the US go to the trouble of building sort of a super secret space shuttle using conventional chemical rockets if they have this exotic tech?
13
posted on
03/06/2006 6:22:59 AM PST
by
ElTianti
To: BenLurkin
Didn't they mothball both of these things years ago?
14
posted on
03/06/2006 6:25:42 AM PST
by
joe fonebone
(Woodstock defined the current crop of libs, but who cleaned up the mess they left?)
To: BenLurkin; DesScorp
![](http://www.aviationnow.com/media/images/news/030606p1.jpg)
Blackstar
![](http://sr71.net/Airplanes/XB-70/xb-70-3.jpg)
XB-70
To: Professional Engineer; alfa6
16
posted on
03/06/2006 6:29:16 AM PST
by
Samwise
To: DesScorp
I love to go to Wright-Patt to see that plane. The XB-70 and the B-36 are my favorite displays there.
To: The_Victor
Sometimes capabilities need to be kept secret.
18
posted on
03/06/2006 6:40:41 AM PST
by
null and void
(I nominate Sept 11th: "National Moderate Muslim Day of Tacit Approval". - Mr. Rational, paraphrased)
To: DesScorp
Interesting.
Burt Rutan used the idea of employing another plane/jet to get his ship into a sub-orbital trajectory.
19
posted on
03/06/2006 6:44:01 AM PST
by
DoctorMichael
(The Fourth-Estate is a Fifth-Column!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
To: BenLurkin
and it had a capability to carry nuclear bomb, if my memory is correct.
20
posted on
03/06/2006 6:45:39 AM PST
by
Wiz
(News hyaena providing you news with spice of acid)
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-40, 41-46 next last
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.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson