Posted on 05/08/2017 10:28:21 AM PDT by blam
The US military's X-37B space plane landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, ending its record-breaking 718-day orbit with a sonic boom during its first landing in Florida.
The US Air Force has two X-37B Orbital Test Vehicles, which it calls its newest and most advanced reentry spacecraft.
At 29 feet long and with a 14-foot wingspan, the planes are about one-quarter of the size of NASA's now retired space shuttles and have a cargo bay about the size of a pick-up truck's.
The first X-37 program started in 1999, and the X-37B first flew in April 2010, returning after eight months in flight.
The next mission, launched in March 2011, was 15 months long, and the third mission in December 2012 lasted 22 months.
"Our team has been preparing for this event for several years, and I am extremely proud to see our hard work and dedication culminate in today’s safe and successful landing of the X-37B," Air Force Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, the commander of the 45th Space Wing, said in a release.
The most recent X-37B mission, launched in May 2015, brings the orbital test vehicle program to a total of 2,085 days spent in orbit.
Amateur astronomers have been able to spot the craft through telescopes and observed it at relatively low altitudes — a little less than 200 miles up, according to some, which is lower than the International Space Station.
What the X-37Bs have doing during those 2,085 days in orbit is less clear, however.
The X-37B program "performs risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies," the Air Force said in its release.
The Air Force has said the program is testing "advanced guidance, navigation and control, thermal protection systems, avionics, high temperature
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I think there are plenty of birds doing plenty of sneaky stuff.
Lockheed has a very large staff, and massive facilities.
Something is being created. “:^)
It’s a good one.
That’s where I’m FREEPING from right now.
It’s nose reminds me of the business end of a viper!!!!
Eddie played a problem patient that Dr. Newman was treating.
SPOILER: It doesn't end well.
Don’t pay any attention to my caustic comments. Neil de grasses Tyson has just made me into a cynic with that “the world is an oblate spheroid” comment of his. So it’s hard to take things seriously with regard to space stuff. Lol
They are certainly not keeping this program very secret with all of the information and photos that have been released.
Matter of fact I think that stupid shuttlecock gets its gyroscope thingy stuck and starts going in circles over Florida panhandle most every evening starting about dark till around 10:00 pm. It is either that or Howard Hughes is back from the dead flying the grey goose up there.
“Remote sensing”? . . .”all kinds”. . .do you mean this kind as well: http://www.irva.org/remote-viewing/definition.html
;-)
(Side note: Back in the 90’s I was doing a ground FAC job with the Army and was headed to the F-15E. I was approached by some guys to join the official US government RV world. . .so, the choice was a) return to flying fighters, or b) “use the Force, Luke” type of job.)
And we should give a damn what the UN thinks? Why????
Are those Laser Cannon’s or Particle Beam Cannon’s in the nose? Perhaps Rail Cannon’s?
Whatever comes down must first go up.
Plutonium rods are heavy.
I wonder whether it was testing a variety of electromagnetic or reactionless drive.
It emits a phased plasma array, but I’m not sure of the width.
That bird most likely is from Eglin. One bored holes over our house last week for over an hour. I’m told they are practicing targeting.
Unless you are using the Grav-O-Matic 5500 gravity nullifier.
Hey, you’re onto something there! “:^)
What scare me now is, are the bees on to something? lol
Since it orbits lower than anything else, with thrusters it can change it’s path...flying under everything.
It doesn’t take much power to disable a satellite from another system in space.
The combo of very low orbit, high speed and maneuverability make it an ideal satellite killer.
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