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  • Remember the SR-71?

    ABC News' Taylor Hom reports:

    The U.S. military's mysterious X-37B space plane is headed back into the great beyond to do… whatever it does up there.

    The X-37B is slated for its third launch in October, the Air Force said, but like its two orbital predecessors, the mission of the unmanned spacecraft remains shrouded in secrecy. The exact timing of the October spaceflight, dubbed Orbital Test Vechicle-3 or OTV-3, is also tentative.

    "We are on track for the launch of the X-37B to occur next month, but the exact date of the launch is dependent on a number of factors including range conditions and weather," Air Force spokesperson Lt. Col . John Dorrian told ABC News. The 29-foot-long vehicle is set to launch aboard an Atlas 5 rocket from the Florida station of Cape Canaveral.

    The pioneer voyage of the X-37B, called OTV-1, began in April of 2010 and lasted 225 days, eventually landing in December of the same year at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The second orbit, OTV-2, touched down on the same base this past June following a record-breaking 469 day travel.

    "For this third launch, while the vehicle is the same… we are considering landing it at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida instead of the previous base," said Dorrian. "We are looking to save money and make use of previous investments and infrastructure already available."

    The mission for this small shuttle-like machine, developed by the U.S. Air Force and based on NASA's original X-37 design, remains largely classified. The secrecy surrounding the program, which is overseen by the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office, has attracted international attention from nations like China who have speculated a more aggressive intent.

    "Industry analysts said the spacecraft could be a precursor to an orbiting weapon, capable of dropping bombs or disabling enemy satellites as it circles the globe," China's state-run Xinhua news agency wrote in June after OTV-2 concluded its mission.

    Since the 2010 maiden flight, U.S. officials have continuously assured the world that the mission of the OTV series is non-nefarious "testing." For instance, the coming October mission will focus on testing the vehicle's capabilities as well the cost-effectiveness of the aircraft, Air Force spokesperson Maj. Tracy Bunko told SPACE.com, which first reported on the new mission

    "One of the most promising aspects of the X-37B is it enables us to examine a payload system or technology in the environment in which it will perform its mission and inspect them when we bring them back to Earth," Bunko said. "Returning an experiment via the X-37B OTV enables detailed inspection and significantly better learning than can be achieved by remote telemetry alone."
    First thought goes to the SR-71 but who knows.
    QuestionableContent-Awesome Webcomic

  • #2
    It's nothing like the SR-71.
    ZOMBIE REAGAN FOR PRESIDENT 2016!!! heh

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    • #3
      I'm referring to its purpose not design.
      QuestionableContent-Awesome Webcomic

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      • #4
        More shuttle than SR71-type plane. Interesting, nonetheless.
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        • #5
          I don't know why anyone wouldn't see possible military applications with something like this. And there's nothing wrong with that, either. It didn't take too long after we achieved flight for someone to figure out how to drop a bomb from an airplane. Like we're just going to stop developing tech just because we already put the rest of the world to shame. Laughable.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by talisman View Post
            I don't know why anyone wouldn't see possible military applications with something like this. And there's nothing wrong with that, either. It didn't take too long after we achieved flight for someone to figure out how to drop a bomb from an airplane. Like we're just going to stop developing tech just because we already put the rest of the world to shame. Laughable.
            Anyone that thinks sitting at the top means that we don't need a defense budget should spend 15 minutes looking at what China is spending money on. Not meaning you Eric.
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            01 TJ - new toy - Sold
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            • #7
              Originally posted by Chas_svo View Post
              should spend 15 minutes looking at what China is spending money on. Not meaning you Eric.
              so is china paying eric or not?

              god bless.
              It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men -Frederick Douglass

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              • #8
                Originally posted by ELVIS View Post
                so is china paying eric or not?

                god bless.

                Sort of. Damn near everything I sell is made in China these days.

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                • #9
                  I think the Air Force is most likely using it for testing materials and optics instead of just flat out spying. Spy sats are usually much larger than the X-37B and are packed with optics and sensors. It makes sense to send them up on a test bed like this mini shuttle then to launch them up on a mission ready satellite with ground testing only.

                  However there are some really nice positives we will gain from these flights. Boeing is running the program with the Air Force. They will get a lot of data on the financials of running a small shuttle program. They get to test materials, manufacturing techniques, and other things in a craft that can stay in orbit for over a year.

                  There is already A LOT of talk of making an X-37C. This would be a larger craft capable of carrying cargo of people.

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                  • #10
                    More like Eric and every one of his customers are paying China, but that's a different argument.

                    I'm sure they are say "Tanks, you stupid Americans!"
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                    01 TJ - new toy - Sold
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                    • #11
                      We really should have space based lasers to take down missiles and orbital bombardment systems
                      I wear a Fez. Fez-es are cool

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Jewrrick View Post
                        I'm referring to its purpose not design.
                        The SR-71 wasn't orbital, and didn't carry bombs. We can keep going.
                        ZOMBIE REAGAN FOR PRESIDENT 2016!!! heh

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Forever_frost View Post
                          We really should have space based lasers to take down missiles and orbital bombardment systems
                          prob be using it to take otu people as well!

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by talisman View Post
                            Sort of. Damn near everything I sell is made in China these days.
                            The rest is made in Mexico.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Yale View Post
                              The SR-71 wasn't orbital, and didn't carry bombs. We can keep going.
                              And was the baddest plane ever built. Nothing can touch it
                              I wear a Fez. Fez-es are cool

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