X-37B space plane returns to Earth after record-breaking 780 days in orbit
(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10011/X-37-a.jpg)
The U.S. Air Force's secretive X-37B space plane returned to Earth on Sunday after completing more than two years in orbit.
The uncrewed X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Mission 5 landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility at 3:51 a.m. ET Sunday, the Air Force confirmed. The 780-day mission shattered the spaceplane's own record of almost 718 days in orbit, which was set by Mission 4 when it returned to Earth in May 2017, Space.com reported.
"The X-37B continues to demonstrate the importance of a reusable spaceplane," said Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett, in a statement. "Each successive mission advances our nation's space capabilities."
TWO Years!....What do you think they're doing for TWO years in orbit?
Check out the ground crew....
(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10011/X-37-b.jpg)
Any Thoughts?
780 days in orbit; that is amazing, yet we still don't have a clue what it was doing other than floating around and around and around...
Is the Air Force some how using it for surveillance? Of what or of who? With what?
Also makes you wonder why the ground crew is wearing full hazmat gear; are they expecting some form of contamination externally that survived re-entry?
Curious...
And what proof do we have that it was actually in orbit? It could have traveled a long way in 780 days...
8)
Hey guys, don't forget this link:
http://www.thelivingmoon.com/47john_lear/02files/Navy_Secrets_Menu.html
Quote from: The Seeker on October 29, 2019, 12:24:10 AM
It could have traveled a long way in 780 days...
... Or nothing. :)
Quote from: ArMaP on October 29, 2019, 09:48:38 PM
... Or nothing. :)
Yes, ArMaP, or no where; that is my point, we have absolutely no data on where it was or what it was doing, if anything, besides floating along, for 2 years and 50 days...
right...
http://youtu.be/u-7VNf7DCY8 (http://youtu.be/u-7VNf7DCY8)
The purpose is to be a testbed. Sometimes things are what they are supposed to be. Proprietary experiments for contractors, USAF and Darpa cannot be published, so we take it as a deep dark secret. Well, IT IS WHAT IT IS...a testbed for various technologies and experiments.
Quote from: spacemaverick on October 30, 2019, 04:05:22 PM
http://youtu.be/u-7VNf7DCY8 (http://youtu.be/u-7VNf7DCY8)
The purpose is to be a testbed. Sometimes things are what they are supposed to be. Proprietary experiments for contractors, USAF and Darpa cannot be published, so we take it as a deep dark secret. Well, IT IS WHAT IT IS...a testbed for various technologies and experiments.
Yes sometimes swamp gas is just that, swamp gas....but hey sometimes it isn't... ;) ;D
Also I find this very interesting.
"X-37C
In 2011, Boeing announced plans for a scaled-up variant of the X-37B, referring to it as the X-37C. The X-37C spacecraft would be between 165% and 180% of the size of the X-37B, allowing it to transport up to six astronauts inside a pressurized compartment housed in the cargo bay. Its proposed launch vehicle was the Atlas V. In this role, Boeing's X-37C could potentially compete with the corporation's CST-100 Starliner commercial space capsule"
(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10011/mid-aft-apas-x-37b.jpg)
Hi Sarge! Very interesting indeed! But why go towards a shuttle type again. Would, in your opinion, be simpler back to a capsule type vehicle or am I looking to the past too much?
Quote from: spacemaverick on October 31, 2019, 01:18:29 AM
Hi Sarge! Very interesting indeed! But why go towards a shuttle type again. Would, in your opinion, be simpler back to a capsule type vehicle or am I looking to the past too much?
Mav, these designs such as the CST-100 or the x37-c go hand in hand with the Marine Corps Project Hot Eagle(Sustain) and their desire to be able to insert a team anywhere on the globe on two hours notice, a project in the works since 2002
Plus, these are re-usable instead of one time total loss...
Some years ago it was proposed to use the discarded shuttle belly tanks to construct a space station/hotel; it would be difficult and very costly to ferry personnel 2 or 3 at a time, just as it is now to the ISS
Time to get past the capsule concept, don't you think?
I think you are right. Reusable...duh..what's wrong with me! SpaceX does it with their boosters all the time.
The sixth mission has been completed and another record was broken, with a flight of 908 days.
QuoteKENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-6 (OTV-6), the U.S. Space Force's unmanned, reusable spaceplane, successfully deorbited and landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility on Nov. 12, 2022, at 05:22 a.m.
OTV -6 was the first mission to introduce a service module-a ring attached to the rear of the vehicle expanding the number of experiments that can be hosted during a mission. "This mission highlights the Space Force's focus on collaboration in space exploration and expanding low-cost access to space for our partners, within and outside of the Department of the Air Force (DAF)," said Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations.
It looks like they are more open about at least some of the experiments done:
QuoteThe OTV-6 mission hosted the Naval Research Laboratory's Photovoltaic Radiofrequency Antenna Module. This experiment successfully harnessed solar rays outside of Earth's atmosphere and aimed to transmit power to the ground in the form of radio frequency microwave energy. Additionally, the U.S. Air Force Academy's FalconSat-8, developed in partnership with Air Force Research Laboratory, was successfully deployed in October 2021. FalconSat-8 remains in orbit, providing Academy cadets unique hands-on experience as space operators prior to entering active duty.
Multiple NASA experiments were deployed on OTV-6. The Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space (METIS-2) included thermal control coatings, printed electronic materials, and candidate radiation shielding materials. METIS-1-which flew on OTV-5-consisted of similar sample plates mounted on the flight vehicle. NASA scientists will leverage data collected after the materials have spent 900+ days in orbit and compare observed effects to ground simulations, validating and improving the precision of space environment models.
Another NASA experiment aims to investigate the effect of long-duration space exposure on seeds. Scientists are interested in the seeds' resistance and susceptibility to space environment-unique stresses, notably radiation. The seeds experiment will inform space crop production for future interplanetary missions and the establishment of permanently inhabited bases in space.
I wonder what other experiments weren't public. :)