The Air Force’s secret space plane has been up in orbit for nearly 500 days—a space endurance record. But nearly a year and a half into the mission, the Pentagon still won’t say what the X-37B is doing up there, or when it might come back.
The U.S. Air Force boosted the robotic X-37B atop the nose of an Atlas-5 rocket in December 2012. Since then it’s orbited the Earth thousands of times, overflying such interesting places as North Korea and Iran.
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Similar to the Space Shuttle in appearance, the diminutive X-37B is about a quarter the size of the old shuttles. But there are major differences. Lacking a crew, the spacecraft has no cockpit windows. The X-37B has a payload bay about the size of a pickup truck bed.
And while the original Space Shuttle could stay in orbit for up to 17 days—a limitation largely due to the needs of the crew—the first X-37B mission, OTV-1, spent 225 days in space under the guidance of Air Force space flight controllers at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. The second mission, OTV-2, handily doubled that number, clocking 469 days in orbit. OTV-3 is currently at 482 days and counting.
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Eventually—nobody knows when—the pudgy space plane will glide back down to Earth like the Space Shuttle it resembles, rolling to a stop on an Air Force runway in California.
The X-37B began as a NASA project to build a small, unmanned space plane. NASA handed the project over to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 2004, but after budgetary problems the program was transferred to the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, which continues to manage the X-37B program. Boeing’s Phantom Works division built two of the X-37B spacecraft.
The U.S. Air Force will not comment on what kind of missions the X-37B does in space. The service, which doesn’t mind talking about the space drone as a technological achievement, clams up when discussing actual missions.
Rumors abound. One of the most popular is the X-37B can sneak up and eavesdrop on other satellites. The idea does have appeal, but skeptics point out the U.S. already has other smaller, harder to track satellites to do just that.
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NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center image shows on-orbit functions for the reusable X-37 space p …
Another rumor is that the X-37B can, like supervillian Ernst Blofeld’s giant clamshell satellite in You Only Live Twice, saddle up to the satellites of other nations and mess with them. Though theoretically possible, the X-37 would have to be launched into an orbit similar to the target’s, and the X-37B’s size makes it easy to track.
Even amateur satellite spotters can track the X-37B, and it would be obvious to everyone who had stolen a satellite.
The most interesting—but least likely—rumor is that the X-37B is some kind of orbital bomber, capable of nailing targets from on high. There’s not a whole lot of evidence to back that theory up.
Brian Weeden, a former Air Force officer with the Space Command’s Joint Space Operations Center and now at the Secure World Foundation, believes that the X-37B is primarily a test bed for new technologies. “I think it is primarily an ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) platform for testing new sensor technologies or validating new technologies.” Weeden tells The Daily Beast. “The current OTV-3 on orbit has basically been in the same orbit since launch, with only the occasional maneuver to maintain that orbit. That’s consistent with a remote sensing/ISR mission.”
The X-37B is probably testing technologies that might be incorporated into the spy satellites of the future. New cameras, radars, and other sensors could be tested in space and then brought back to Earth for study. That’s much better than designing them on Earth and then building an enormously expensive spy satellite reliant on untested technology.
That doesn’t mean that OTV-3 isn’t spying on other countries—it probably is. OTV-3’s orbit takes it over all sorts of interesting places, including North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China. The space drone’s sensors are likely could well be getting workouts against real-world targets, from North Korean missile facilities to shipyards where China’s next aircraft carriers are being built.
And although it’s only a guess, one can surmise that, based on the amount of time the X-37B is spending in orbit, those sensors are apparently working pretty well.
If the X-37B is just a test platform, why won’t the Pentagon open up about it? “I don’t think the secrecy surrounding the X-37B program is an attempt by the U.S. government to hide anything nefarious, but rather that it’s driven by bureaucratic inertia,” Weeden says. Addressing the rumors, Weeden points out, “The secrecy surrounding the program makes it difficult for the U.S. government to respond meaningfully to those claims and debunk them.”
The X-37B is a relatively bright spot during a fallow period for the U.S. space program, and Boeing and the Air Force are capitalizing on the program’s success. Boeing is converting the former Orbiter Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, where Space Shuttles were maintained in-between spaceflights, to a one-stop facility designed to refurbish landed X-37Bs and prepare them for spaceflight again.
Boeing has also proposed a larger X-37C, which would be capable of carrying up to six astronauts to and from orbit. This project is likely to get a second look as relations with Russia, the only country currently capable of sending astronauts into space, sour over the situation in the Ukraine.
In the meantime OTV-3 continues to drift overhead, silently orbiting the Earth, doing whatever it does. It’s anyone’s guess when it will be coming back. Related from The Daily Beast
Wonder y the Russian GPS that was just put into space quit working... OOOPS either this or stuxnet type of attack?? Will we know? NO.
I tend to agree. Everyone else is 50 years behind the US when it comes to cutting edge technology, but then again it took an overwhelming numbers advantage for the shermans to do much with the panzers or tiger tanks and it took the nazi scientists to give the US the 50 year advantage it now holds.
The decision was made by the US not to send Heavy tanks to Europe due to the fact that it would be easier to cross the many smaller bridges thus giving us the advantage in encirclement or getting support to the troops etc, as the Germans would need to travel farther for river crossings. All US vehicles were designed to travel at at least 45 mph min in order to not run ahead of supply trucks etc.
The Sherman's of early manufacture had several design problems... one was that the German tanks equipped with the German anti-aircraft gun of 88mm (a fine weapon)... which could go right through the Sherman would hit the turret where a number of shells were stored .. which exploded them causing an intense fire, hence the Germans nicknamed them Ronson burners/lighters... the 2nd problem with the early Sherman's was that the bow gunner and driver hatches below the main gun were placed too close to the main gun and if the turret was disabled then it blocked escape from these hatches and the men would be burned alive as no quick escape was available since the turret was in flames. Corrected both problems later in production... as the stored ammo was moved into the hull in a wet storage as in the 76w model the w denoting wet storage. The Sherman did out number the the Panther and the Tiger both equipped with 88's but as the Germans said, it took 3 Sherman's to take a Tiger... the Panther was troubled by transmission and final drive problems and many were destroyed by their crews rather than leave to the Russians or US.
I'm a Stuart Fan my self... it was very important in support of troops and half-tracks, I've built 7ea 1/6 scale all steel functional models in my shop, one which was the prototype and 5 production.. all hand made on fabricating equipment and Bridgeport mill + lathe. Could pull my 2 kids on a skateboard up a 10 deg incline, and crush cans with 3 passes. It was a limited production and led to another model to be kitted which due to 2008 collapse I didn't continue even after 2 yrs of CAD modeling prototype work. The Stuart became famous because of a Sgt that developed the hedgegrove cutter made from beach head angle iron that prevented beach landing of vehicles. The Stuarts were too light in weight to ram through the European / French hedges that took the place of fences. So these devices where fabricated as sharp and in such a way to cut the hedges as they rammed through. Can't fight if you're stuck on the other side. MY models:
My 8" x 18" r&d manual turret CNC lathe in background. Early Stuart to right of clock... I made the later model M5A1 powered by Twin Caddilac V-8's My prototype started as electric and then moved to my own design gas powered hydraulic drive, it was sweet! 2 control valves radio control operated... my history in R/C started as model boats in 1967.. Kraft radios... and Super Tigre Italian speed plane engines in my 4 point hydroplanes are my favorite. The tracks you see have 66 track blocks, 132 pins, 132 horn links (formed part), 132 retainers, and 132 2-56 nuts, 132 2-56 screws & 132 c pin keepers, in each track x 2 per vehicle x6 production, and we haven't included all that suspension and other unseen stuff. All drawings shop born... no outside fabrication, all in my micro or mini shop. Any thing from 280z cars, models, to motorcycle parts. I did all r&d + programming / machining... CNC all self taught. 30 yrs die making commercially and then split off into my own shop... I enjoyed it all until the crash, 60% loss in sales.. and then wind of 0bummer taxes coming... it was not worth it to continue. Last product prototype died in computer CAD / CAM, it is a shame because I had many people world over interested. I enjoy making people happy with quality products only one return in 13 yrs!! (missed spot weld)
My own products varied from Harley parts, model parts, and Jeep accessories.. all of my own design... Jeep luggage racks for 12yrs! I still have fabrication equipment and 1 CNC Mill used occasionally. Business is closed.
Last edited by spring2 on Tue Apr 08, 2014 10:38 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : typo)
quietobserver Super Elite
Posts : 2707 Reputation : 131 Join date : 2013-02-06
Saw the waybackmachine at top of watcher meet-up and was looking at some of Davids old pages hit the back button and uh... why not... look up my 2nd and last website? Go a head and give it a try! http://web.archive.org/web/20021004022343/http://6tharmor.netfirms.com/tank.html Saved 41 times between July 23, 2002 and July 17, 2009.
Though not real up to date before closing shop .. you can see some of the model work being done and the hydraulic powered prototype. I have a more up to date site saved on cd... but netfirms took down long ago.
Be sure to look at the Archive @ http://web.archive.org/web/20021008223631/http://6tharmor.netfirms.com/Tanksarchive.html which has a few early pictures of the many many parts required to build tracks for these models. CLICK ON PICTURES. Of this WWII track style, mine was the first model track produced. The CNC machines were not used for these, only manual machinery. Have fun looking into Dave's past.
Oh, forgot to mention that the entry page the picture is all my 3D artwork with exception to the background picture of trees & grass. Sign, helmet and sprocket etc are mine... in fact the sprocket is from the tank model.
Subject: Secret Spaceplane, Mystery Mission 
Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:58 pm
