Posted on 06/01/2010 1:53:28 PM PDT by Corky Boyd
On April 22 the Air Force launched the X-37B, an unmanned miniature space shuttle look-alike that was cloaked in secrecy and described in official gobbledygook that still defies the best decryption efforts of NSA. Here’s a sample:...“The program supports technology risk reduction, experimentation and operational concept development.”
Nothing about this mission makes sense. What aroused my curiosity was an article in the NY Times that Harvard astronomer Jonathan Mc Dowell had reported the upper stage was sent into an unknown orbit around the sun. Now the upper stage of any launch vehicle shoves the main payload into its final orbit, in this case 255 miles high. Why did the upper stage continue into a sun orbit after positioning the X-37B in low earth orbit?
The second oddity is the launch vehicle is an Atlas V with a Centaur upper stage. The version used (501) is designed for launching geosynchronous satellites to an altitude of about 22,000 miles high, not low earth orbit.
(Excerpt) Read more at islandturtle.blogspot.com ...
Defense projects like this generally don’t see the light of day until they’re well into the operational phase. My guess is that the spaceplane already has a functional payload of some kind, either a satellite it launched itself, equipment to make it an observation/intel platform, or most interestingly, active weapons (satellite killer). I doubt that they pushed it up there just as coverage for something else. I think the plane itself was the main payload, and it’s doing a lot more than flying in circles.
I got the top secret low down from a guy online named sandpiper101.
This is a new way of getting information from terrorists. See, apparently if you are untrained and they launch you into zero grav, it is very disturbing. You think you are going to die.
You throw up, you get space sickness. Anyway it is awful
Anyways, this is the information extraction method being used by Obama, because waterboarding is torture (don’t you know?) and we need to get these guys to talk without torturing them.
Who comes up with this crap anyways? Maybe it’s true?
Pingaroo.
Just read the NYTimes for all the details.
The payload of the X-37 is 500 pounds with a volume of 7 feet x 4 x 4 barely human size, an almost useless amount. This was a civilian project for 5 years, then became a highly secret Air Force one. There is a great disconnect.
You simply don’t use an Atlas/Centaur to put 500# of useful payload into orbit, unless you like to waste money and scarce launch vehicles.
You can get a pretty impressive amount of power out of a 500lb laser. You can also get a lot of cameras together within 500lbs, and 500lbs will also get you a half-decent kinetic weapon, or a missile.
FarScape One.
LLS
I doubt that it had any really important cargo on its’ first flight, but in the future it will have “something” on board that can be deployed at the right time and in the right place when it is needed.
The part that was lauched toward the sun is probably just to get rid of it so it doesn’t become more orbital space junk.
Sounds like plenty of payload room for launching into space things like Obama’s long-form, college records, etc.
They threw Obama’s spine into orbit since he wasn’t using it.
lol
“The program supports technology risk reduction, experimentation and operational concept development.”
I suppose the same could be said for a 1956 Chevy.
The upper stage continued toward the sun and the wormhole... secret comm with aliens in another part of our galaxy. We have to find Someone to accept the O and his ilk... a national priority...
Maybe the Scarrens will take him.
LLS
“Maybe the Scarrens will take him.”
Nah, he doesn’t like the heat...
I forgot about the heat!
LLS
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