Air Force X-37B Craft Rumored To Be Testing Spy Satellites – No Kidding?
The U.S. Air Force is poised to launch its second robotic X-37B space plane on a secret mission today, with some experts speculating that the classified flight will test new spy satellite technologies. The robotic X-37B mini-shuttle is slated to blast off today atop an Atlas 5 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on the second flight for the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office’s X-37B program. The launch time is set for 3:50 p.m. EST (2050 GMT), though a dismal forecast predicts a 70 percent chance of foul weather. Is anyone really shocked that this craft is testing secret technology? I sure hope not as this is far from secret!
The Air Force has one other X-37B space plane, OTV-1, which just returned from its maiden seven-month space mission this past December. The unmanned Boeing-built spacecraft look like smaller versions of NASA’s space shuttles and are designed to be reusable. They also carry solar arrays to generate power, allowing them to stay in orbit on missions of up to 270 days, Air Force officials have said. NASA originally developed the X-37B space planes until funding ran dry in 2004. The vehicle program then passed to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) before being picked up by the Air Force in 2006. Air Force officials were tight-lipped about OTV-1’s mission, and they’ve been similarly vague about what OTV-2 will do, since much about the X-37B missions is classified.
Comments are closed.