The OTV-1 X-37B in April 2010, inside its payload fairing prior to launch
Posted on 04/24/2014 9:19:06 AM PDT by lbryce
An unmanned military space plane has achieved a major longevity milestone, zipping around Earth for 500 days on a clandestine mission for the United States government.
The U.S. Air Force's X-37B space plane launched on its third and latest mission on Dec. 11, 2012. As of today (April 24), the vehicle has been aloft for 500 days — far longer than its officially stated maximum orbital lifetime of 270 days.
"Clearly, and understandably, the Air Force initially set the expected parameters [of the X-37B] conservatively, not really knowing what it could do until it was tested — which is what they are doing now," said Joan Johnson-Freese, professor of national security affairs at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. [Photos: The X-37B Space Plane's 3rd Mystery Mission]
"Personally, I think it's commendable that they are pushing it to the extent that they appear to be," Johnson-Freese told Space.com via email. "That's the only way to really know what it can do."
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
I hate the limitation of chemical fuels, but nuclear ones tend to leave a blasted radioactive wasteland of the launch site. I like the Larry Niven solution: air compressed almost to neutron degeneracy. Is that possible? Not now, maybe later.
US Air Force’s Mysterious X-37B Space Plane Passes 500 Days in Orbit
Ooh, interesting idea. It’s big enough to hold a rail gun and some tungsten projectiles...
The OTV-1 X-37B in April 2010, inside its payload fairing prior to launch
Where enough energy is available, cheaply — such as in space — it might work, but obviously, that doesn’t get it off the ground.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degenerate_matter
I tend to like fermions more than bosons. But then I think “where would I be without bosons”? I can’t decide.
Cap’t Kirk probably said the same thing. In fact, pretty much any captain.
“What do you mean, you forgot to load the return to earth program.”
Hey, I don’t make the rules, but I do like them sometimes.
Its in the article.
I was just trying to come up with some reason for
the long flight, it is curious.
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