Posted on 11/30/2011 2:52:25 PM PST by Neil E. Wright
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The secretive X-37B robotic space plane is about to set its own space-endurance record on a hush-hush project operated by the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
The craft, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle-2, was boosted into Earth orbit atop an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 5. Tomorrow (Nov. 30), the X-37B spacecraft will mark its 270th day of flight — a lifetime in space that was heralded in the past as the vehicle's upper limit for spaceflight by project officials.
"It's still up there," U.S. Air Force Maj. Tracy Bunko of the Air Force Press Desk at the Pentagon, told SPACE.com, noting that project officials planned for a 9- month-plus mission, "so we're close to that now."
The X-37B's staying power is made feasible by its deployable solar array power system, unfurled from the vehicle's cargo bay. [Photos: Air Force's 2nd Secret X-37B Mission]
Built by Boeing's Phantom Works, the X-37B spacecraft is about 29 feet (8.8 meters) long and 15 feet (4.5 meters) wide. It has a payload bay about the size of a pickup truck bed.
The X-37B resembles a miniature version of NASA's space shuttle. Two X-37Bs could fit inside the 60-foot (18-meter) cargo bay of a space shuttle.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Would melt like a Popsicle.
I share your dream. I do.
But I suspect a stealth cruise missle, dropped from a big ass drone.
Tungsten m.p. 6192F
Actually, that turns out to not be the case. This was explored well during the 'star wars' SDI projects. They actually hit hard enough to emit X-rays. Think blocks wiped out. With something that can't be stopped.
Article says it has a pickup-bed sized pay load.
How many (very expensive, specially designed) rock bars can you put in that volume?
/johnny
The guy in the next cube just asked what was so funny.
:-)
LOL. Just checked the orbital track. Another coincidence....right over Tehran
LOL, yes you just flip the little thing over they all fall out and you push the mystery magic button and they hit within two feet of where you want them .
Why did you find it necessary to spill the beans?
Why did you find it necessary to spill the beans?
When they craft one they usually craft two and parts just in case the `1st one works.. did they ?
Are there “those” in “The Company” who could pull something off without O’Dumbo’s knowledge? I think it’s possible!
Sure. They pulled of fast and furious without him knowing about it, right?
Or to see it live in the sky check www.heavens-above.com for visible passes at your location
Or to see it live in the sky check www.heavens-above.com for visible passes at your location
You are digging a hole.
You should speak to subjects you know first hand.
All of those points were addressed and engineered. They are not dumped out. They are ejected at a precise time with a small solid rocket that puts them into the proper orbit for intercepting the surface of the planet close to where they are pointed.
Know anything about GPS or steerable noses?
Or the melting point to tungsten carbide?
Do a little research. Even the public (unclass) information puts your 'tude to bed.
/johnny
Yes, and I know how much space all that crap takes and how much it should weigh, to much for the little light weight experiment craft.
Give it up already.
/johnny
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