Astronomers Unravel X37-B Orbit, Say Likely Used For Deploying Spy Satellites
A group of amateur astronomers claim they have found the US Air Force’s “top secret” space shuttle, the X37-B. The minature space shuttle was launched from Florida last month amid speculation that it was to play the first role in the militarisation of space. But avid skywatcher Ted Molczan claims that from his backyard in Toronto, he’s locked onto the X37-B’s orbit and it looks unlikely it will be deploying space weapons of any sort. Mr Molczan says shuttle’s orbit instead suggests it’s testing sensors for a range of new spy satellites.
He told the New York Times the X37-B was mimicking the behaviour of regular US imaging satellites by passing over the same region every four days. That region, Mr Molczan said, took in a belt from 40 degrees north latitude to 40 degrees south latitude and passed over North Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. He said on clear nights it appeared as a regular satellite to observers as a bright star moving steadily across the sky. Mr Molczan worked with team members in Canada, the US and South Africa to corroborate the shuttle’s path and said it orbited the Earth once every 90 minutes.
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