X-37B Countdown and Launch

[01101001]

What I was wondering, since X-37B has a solar panel, would that make it quite bright in the night sky.

If it's anything like the artist depiction, it's not bright. It's small and not flat.

(click for 7-megabyte image)

[Glom]

Brings me right into this thread. Grr.. Ah, "Centaur forward load reactor". I love all the input from you well informed guys, but sometimes those acronyms can be a .. pain

I hear you and can relate. Space is an acronym rich environment. You may think it's a vacuum but it's actually filled with acronyms. So is the military, and military space takes it to another level. A couple months ago, I started working on a new architecture project for the Missile Defense Agency, an area I'd never worked before. I studied the supplied documents and quickly compiled a 17 page (single spaced) acronym list that's is by no means exhaustive. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever be able to talk normally again.

You think you have monopoly on acronyms? We have the acronym TAR, which stands for turnaround. That's right, we created a TLA for a single word.

[slang]

You think you have monopoly on acronyms? We have the acronym TAR, which stands for turnaround. That's right, we created a TLA for a single word.

Heh, initially I took "acronym turnaround" as the amount of time that one acronym keeps the same meaning. And that would fit, too.

[Extravoice]

If it's anything like the artist depiction, it's not bright. It's small and not flat.

(click for 7-megabyte image)

To me, the image looks like an advertisement for the latest operating system from Microsoft.

[Larry Jacks]

You think you have monopoly on acronyms? We have the acronym TAR, which stands for turnaround. That's right, we created a TLA for a single word.

That's a good one. I never claimed a monopoly on acronyms, just that I have to deal with a lot of them. Some of the hardest are the nested acronyms, such as "BCM" which stands for BMDS C2BMC Model, which stands for Ballistic Missile Defense System Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications Model, or "GFC/C" which stands for GMD Fire Control/Communications, which stands for Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Fire Control/Communications.

I've been in the military space business since 1986. I knew I was in trouble when the first document they had me read was titled "SOC SOC", meaning Space Operations Center System Operational Concept.

[Nicolas]

I still love FIFI on our ships. FIFI is a cute little dog. Well, actually it simply is the Fire Fighting system.

[The Jim]

FIFI is also an aerospace acronym. It is similar to "use as is" for anomaly resolution

[zerocold]

Why the USAF is interested in the X-37?

[KaiYeves]

Why the USAF is interested in the X-37?

Because it's testing concepts for future spaceplane designs.

[Glom]

Because it's testing concepts for future spaceplane designs.

But what's the Air Force planning to do with spaceplanes?

[Extravoice]

But what's the Air Force planning to do with spaceplanes?

We could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you.

[Hungry4info]

One of the displays was a replica of a Soviet manned spacecraft (probably a Soyuz) used in the movie "Marooned."

I thought the Soviet spacecraft in the movie was a Vostok o_O

[01101001]

But what's the Air Force planning to do with spaceplanes?

When it comes to keeping secrets, the U.S. Air Force knows how to stay mum.

That came from a previously cited source: Discover: 80Beats Blog: Air Force to Launch Secret Space Plane Tomorrow–But Don’t Ask What It’s For

If you scroll back you'll run into some mass-market media articles about the X37-B, including speculation about future plans, some more reasoned than others. You probably shouldn't expect a definitive answer to that question about a secret project.

For now, the Air Force is simply preparing for tomorrow’s launch and refusing to spill the beans on the space plane’s potential uses.

[01101001]

BA Blog: What is the Air Force doing with space?

Info about the X-37 B is relatively tight, so it’s unclear what it’s being tested for. Surveillance is assured, since any satellite can be used for that. The Air Force says it has no offensive capabilities — I wonder if they mean the test shot launched last month, or the X-37 B itself — but it does have a payload capability for small satellites, and can be operated in orbit for at least 9 months. Its orbit takes it from -40° to +40° latitude. Go look at a globe and see what countries lie in that range that might be of interest to the military…

Also of interest is that the Air Force is planning a test launch of a hypersonic scramjet called the X-51A, an aircraft capable of flight at speeds of at least Mach 6 — about 7000 kph! That launch may happen as soon as May 25.

[slang]

Universe Today: Amateur Astronomers Spy on Air Force's Secret Mini Space Plane

The US Air Force's unmanned mini space shuttle has been located and tracked in orbit by a contingent of amateur astronomers, and now you can see the X37-B for yourself.

[Extravoice]

I just read on SpaceFlightNow that a second X37B is scheduled to fly next year. Has the first one landed yet?

Wow, was the previous post in this thread really in May? Time flies!

[aerovoid]

I just read on SpaceFlightNow that a second X37B is scheduled to fly next year. Has the first one landed yet?

Not to my knowledge, no. It's been said that it can stay up orbit for 270 days at a time and it's been 182 days so far. I'm guessing they're testing to make sure it can actually do that. So I'd guess at a mid January landing. I'll put my bet on January 16th

[Nicolas]

I read some days ago that it was "missing" for the spotters since a few days now, meaning that it is no longer in its current orbit (unless cloaked...). Not in its current orbit can mean that it is still up there in another orbit, or that it landed secretly.

[Hungry4info]

It was found again.

[Garrison]

I read some days ago that it was "missing" for the spotters since a few days now, meaning that it is no longer in its current orbit (unless cloaked...). Not in its current orbit can mean that it is still up there in another orbit, or that it landed secretly.

Yeah I wouldn't rule out the cloak, you know they have to be working on one.

[Tuckerfan]

Yeah I wouldn't rule out the cloak, you know they have to be working on one.

You only think you're joking.

Scientists have rendered objects invisible under near-infrared light.

Unlike previous such "cloaks", the new work does not employ metals, which introduce losses of light and result in imperfect cloaking.

Because the approach can be scaled down further in size, researchers say this is a major step towards a cloak that would work for visible light.

[Garrison]

You only think you're joking.

Actually I knew about that research, I believe one team has done it with visible light on a very small scale. But perhaps the USAF has perfected it, hence the problem with locating the X-37B.

[KaiYeves]

Wow, was the previous post in this thread really in May? Time flies!

There's not much to talk about when everything's secret!

[NEOWatcher]

There's not much to talk about when everything's secret!

Unless you're a CT.

[Glom]

Given it's in space, camouflage is not exactly complicated. It might get a bit hot though.

[Nicolas]

There have been tests in the past with space camouflage. Can't remember a name nor find a link at the moment though. Anyway, spotters found it again when the "cloaking" was off for a while on that occasion.

[kamaz]

It would appear from amateur observers on the ground that the secretive U.S. Air Force X-37B space plane – will be landing soon. This prediction is based off the fact that the craft is dropping in altitude and the more basic fact that it is nearing the limit of its orbital capabilities and has to return to terra firma. According to the U.S. Air Force, the X-37B can remain on orbit for around nine months or 270 days at maximum, this means that the craft should be landing sometime in the middle of January.

http://www.universetoday.com/80127/t...and-rise-of-x/

[aerovoid]

Well it looks like the X-37B will be landing as early as this Friday, at Vandenberg AFB.

The X-37B final approach will be guided by a differential Global Positioning System precision landing system to feed navigation data into the craft's flight computer, giving the vehicle cues as it flies toward Vandenberg and lines up with the runway.

The space plane will arrive near the landing site and align with the runway for a steep final approach glide. In the last few seconds of the flight, the craft will flare its nose, deploy its tricycle landing gear and slap down on the runway.

More at Spaceflightnow.com

[slang]

So who laughed when I said that the landing might not necessarily be top ultra mega secret?

X-37 Landing

[NEOWatcher]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned it has landed safely.

Unmanned US spacecraft returns after 7-month trip