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X-37B Space Plane

April 8, 2014 by · Comments Off on X-37B Space Plane 

X-37B Space Plane, A U.S. space plane, shrouded in secrecy, has broken its own longevity record by staying in orbit for more than 469 days.

The flight is the third for the X-37B mystery mission and was launched on December 11, 2012, atop an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral.

Little is known about the spacecraft, which is taken into orbit on a rocket but lands like the space shuttle by gliding down to Earth.

A U.S. space plane, shrouded in secrecy, has broken its own longevity record by staying in orbit for more than 469 days

The mission’s first orbital launch, USA-212, took place on 22 April 2010. A second X-37 was launched on 5 March 2011 and returned to Earth on 16 June 2012.

Up until now, the record for the longest X-37B mission is 469 days, set by the program’s second mission launched in 2011.

Mystery surrounds the exact type and capabilities of the hardware aboard with some analysts suggesting it will be used to support U.S. soldiers in various warzones around the world.

The U.S. Air Force’s unmanned X-37B space plane has flown three secret missions to date.

Each time it has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit.

The spacecraft looks similar to Nasa’s space shuttle but is much smaller. The X-37B is about 29 feet (8.8m) long and 9.5 feet (2.9 m) tall.

It has a wingspan just less than 15 feet (4.6 m). At launch, it weighs 11,000 lbs (4,990 kg).

The craft is taken into orbit on a rocket but lands like the space shuttle by gliding down to Earth.

Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell told IDG it seems clear one of the big features is the plane’s ability to stay in space for extended periods of time.

‘The Air Force now has a policy of acquiring capabilities rather than missions, so some general somewhere probably thinks it would be spiffy to have a space plane that can launch at short notice,’ he said.

‘It’s worthwhile learning lessons from the shuttle and how to do turn-arounds cheaper.’

Ahead of the X-37B’s first launch, officials said the craft would conduct experiments involving the transport of satellite sensors, subsystems, components, and associated technology into space.

‘I believe it’s testing some kind of experimental sensor for the National Reconnaissance Office; for example, a hyper spectral imager, or some new kind of signals intelligence package,’ Mr McDowell said to IDG.

‘The sensor was more successful than expected, so the payload customer asked the X-37 folks to keep the spacecraft in orbit longer.’

There are rumours circulating that the craft has been kept in space to spy on the new Chinese space station, Tiangong.

However, analysts have pointed out that surveillance would be tricky, since the spacecraft would rush past each other at thousands of metres per second.

X-37B

December 2, 2011 by · Comments Off on X-37B 

X-37B, The US Air Force has officially confirmed that the second flight of their X-37B robot spaceplane is on overtime. This small experimental spacecraft, which resembles a car-sized space shuttle, has been in orbit since early March. At the end of November, the spacecraft passed its semi-official endurance limit of 270 days in space.

The USAF had been very quiet about this mission for months, but broke the silence as the deadline approached. We have been told that the X-37B is in good health, and is now flying an extended mission. Exactly when the vehicle will return to Earth remains unclear.

Why stretch the mission beyond its previously advertised endurance level? It’s probably because the true endurance of the spacecraft is known to be much longer. Engineers are conservative, and tend to favor safe numbers in their predictions. The publicized endurance figure is probably fudged with wide safety margins. There’s also the benefit of the previous mission in 2010, which lasted around 224 days.

Data from the spacecraft returned during this first flight, and obtained after its return, probably showed that it was performing better than expected. Earlier predictions of how some of its systems would degrade have probably been found to be inaccurate. The result is a new, better-informed estimate of the endurance for X-37B. How large is the new figure? Beyond closed doors, nobody seems to know.

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