Posted on 07/31/2019 6:47:43 AM PDT by LibWhacker
I’m sure the Air Force appreciates Ms. Wilson’s efforts to publicize this capability.
USAF Ping.
“I’m sure the Air Force appreciates Ms. Wilson’s efforts to publicize this capability.”
Maybe the Air Force wants it known.
Confusion to our enemies and all that.
L
By the time we find out about it, it is no longer in the inventory.
Using aerobraking to accomplish small crossrange maneuvers is not what was observed with the famous tic-tac in the F18 FLIR video.
Let’s see. The US might be able to change the orbit or direction of a spacecraft, but can they safely maneuver a Navy ship in traffic? (sarcasm)
That was a radar anomaly, guarantee it.
Imagery of the site, in the Quintuco region of Neuquén Province, near the town of Bajada del Agrio in Patagonia, Argentina, shows a surprising rapidity of construction, especially for such a remote area [coordinates: 38.1914°S, 70.1495°W]. The project has been carried out by China Harbour Engineering Company, a subsidiary of state-controlled China Communications Construction Company, which has been integral to China’s unprecedented and frenetic island building in the South China Sea. CLTC, the operator of the Neuquén facility, is a unit of the General Armaments Department of China’s People’s Liberation Army. A related sponsor, whose name is written on a sign outside the Patagonia base, is the Xi’an Satellite Control Center, described by some security analysts as the nerve center of the PLA’s satellite tracking, telemetry and control activities worldwide.
https://thediplomat.com/2016/05/china-builds-space-monitoring-base-in-the-americas/
This implies that keeping track of it is a ground-based capability. Wouldn't there be a significant space-based tracking capability, that would obviously work no matter where it was? Or, do adversaries just not have space-based tracking?
It thinks Small
That may be old news.
Tic tac and an F-18 FLIR video?
— Dr Marco Langbroek (@Marco_Langbroek) July 24, 2019 Langbroek has written a blog post about the X-37B’s purported abilities. His conclusion: “the orbital history of the five X-37B OTV missions so far do not evidence the alleged maneuverability in orbital plane
...
Keep our enemies guessing.
Throwing more money into limitless projects to try and keep up with our technological and technical innovation is a sure way to bankrupt a competitor. Just ask Reagan and the USSR.
Bingo.
So, this assumes our “adversaries” do not have satellites orbiting around the earth too, able to hand off tracking data from one to another as it leaves one ‘s sensor capability and moves into anothers? Why do I think this article and writer are idiots?
You think they’re idiots because they’re idiots.
If the normal orbit intersected the atmosphere deeply enough to allow maneuvering, it would decay and return to earth after not many orbits.
If it doesn’t intersect the atmosphere, the only way to use the atmosphere for maneuvering is to decelerate to drop into the atmosphere, turn, and then re-accelerate to push the perigee above the atmosphere. It would take less fuel to just light the engines and directly perform the orbital change desired on rocket thrust.
Loose lips....
Or misdirection.
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