Boeing to Use Former Space Shuttle Hangar for Secret Space Plane. A former NASA space shuttle hangar will serve as the new home and servicing facility for a fleet of secretive military space planes.
The Boeing Company announced on Friday (Jan. 3) it will begin converting Orbiter Processing Facility-1 (OPF-1) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to support the U.S. Air Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV). Built by Boeing's Phantom Works, the winged X-37B space plane resembles in some ways a smaller version of NASA's shuttle with a 15-foot (4.5 m.) wingspan. Closing the Tech Gap: China's Spaceplane. That’s right, the rumors appear to be true.
Beijing is joining the United States as the only nations with reusable spaceplane designs that are actually conducting test flights. Beijing reportedly sent its Divine Dragon — or Shenlong — space plane aloft for a successful atmospheric test flight in January, 2011. The U.S. uses its two X-37B spaceplanes for incredibly long missions doing super classified work in place, one can only guess that China’s Divine Dragon will be used for similar purposes. Now, what’s the real news in this year and a half old story? Well, according to DT’s go-to China expert Andrew Erickson, its the speed at which China is closing the gap between the fielding of advanced technology compared to the U.S. Here’s an excerpt from one of his latest analysis pieces on China’s military rise, titled Shenlong ‘Divine Dragon’ Takes Flight: Is China developing its first spaceplane? Experts: Shenlong May Be China’s Response to U.S. X-37B.
GOLDEN, Colo. — As the next secretive flight of the U.S.
Air Force’s robotic X-37B minishuttle draws closer, analysts are keeping a close eye on China’s own potential spaceplane, the Shenlong. Last year, several Chinese media outlets reported a test flight of the Shenlong spaceplane that apparently involved an airdrop from an H-6 bomber. But the nature of the Shenlong project’s testing, as well as what the robot vehicle truly represents, remains sketchy. Several China watchers in the United States have taken a stab at what the Shenlong (Mandarin for “Divine Dragon”) might mean, with some experts conjecturing that the craft is simply a tit-for-tat response to the unmanned X-37B spaceplane.
China is the third country, after Russia and the United States, to develop an independent human spaceflight program. Gubrud said that if Chinese space designers are successful in their Shenlong work, the country may attempt to develop a larger version. Shenlong Space Plane: Chinas Answer To U.S. X-37B Drone? X-37B Launch Successful - Space News. December 11, 2012 Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com — Your Universe Online The Air Force’s mysterious robotic space plane X-37B launched successfully on Tuesday afternoon, kickstarting another one of its secretive missions.
The mini-space shuttle spacecraft, also referred to as the OTV-3, flew aboard an Atlas V craft, rocketing towards its orbit from Cape Canaveral in Florida just after 1:00 p.m. local time. X-37B is now officially on its third mission which is sure to bring much speculation as to what the mysterious spacecraft is doing up above. During the second mission, the space plane spent 469 days in space, despite the Air Force saying it is only designed to be in orbit for 270 days. Some speculate the vehicle is designed to keep an eye on China’s activities while others say it is simply a system used for long-term space experiments. China’s Mystery Space Plane Stirs Up Questions. As the next secretive flight of the U.S.
Air Force's robotic X-37B mini-shuttle draws closer, analysts are keeping a close eye on China’s own potential space plane, the Shenlong. Last year several Chinese media outlets reported a test flight of the Shenlong space plane that apparently included its airdrop from an H-6 bomber. But the nature of the Shenlong project's testing, as well as what the robot vehicle truly represents, remains sketchy. Shenlong Space Plane: China's Answer To U.S. X-37B Drone? By: Leonard David Published: 11/10/2012 08:46 AM EST on SPACE.com As the next secretive flight of the U.S.
Air Force's robotic X-37B mini-shuttle draws closer, analysts are keeping a close eye on China’s own potential space plane, the Shenlong. Last year several Chinese media outlets reported a test flight of the Shenlong space plane that apparently included its airdrop from an H-6 bomber. But the nature of the Shenlong project's testing, as well as what the robot vehicle truly represents, remains sketchy. X-37B lands successfully following 220 days in space. December 3, 2010 by Chris Bergin and William Graham The US Air Force’s X-37B has successfully returned back to Earth on Friday morning, landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 9:16am GMT.
Also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (OTV-1), its maiden voyage involved 220 days on orbit, conducting experiments and testing its systems, before carrying out the first autonomous re-entry and landing in the recorded history of the US space programme. Boeing - X-37B Unmanned Space Fighter Lands At Vandenberg Air Force Base [720p]
US Starting Asia Space Race? The launch of the X-37 marks a hike in the space stakes, says David Axe.
Will Asian countries see it as a military threat? It was a space launch to change the world. On January 11, 2007, a solid-fuelled rocket lifted off from Xichang Space Center in central China, a non-explosive ‘kill vehicle’ fitted to its tip. Five hundred miles above the earth, the now-separated kill vehicle struck an 8-year-old Chinese weather satellite, pulverizing it and leaving behind a cloud of some 1,000 large pieces of debris. US Air Force's X37-B Secret 'Space Shuttle' Nears Year In Space. Air Force's mysterious X-37B space plane nears one year in orbit. This NASA Marshall Space Flight Center image shows on-orbit functions for the reusable X-37 space plane. NASA/MSFC The U.S. US Air Force's Mysterious X-37B Space Plane Passes 1 Year in Orbit. The U.S.
Air Force's secretive X-37B space plane program has passed another milestone: Its latest mission marked one year in orbit this week. The reusable unmanned X-37B space plane, flying what the U.S. military calls the Orbital Test Vehicle 3 (OTV-3) mission, began its second flight on Dec. 11, 2012, launching atop an Atlas 5 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. But what it's been doing for the last 12 months remains a mystery. The details of the mission, including its payloads and objectives, have been kept classified. X-37B Launch: Military's Secret Space Plane Mission Now Set To Begin In Mid-November.
By: Leonard David Published: 10/21/2012 12:11 PM EDT on SPACE.com The U.S.
Air Force's launch of the next secret mission by its unmanned X-37B space plane has been officially delayed to mid-November. The upcoming X -37B space plane mystery mission, also known as Orbital Test Vehicle-3 (OTV-3), was slated to blast off atop an Atlas 5 rocket on Oct. 25 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The liftoff is now scheduled for Nov. 13, according to ULA. The delay was announced Saturday (Oct. 20) in an update by the mission's launch provider, United Launch Alliance (ULA). An unexpected lower than normal chamber pressure was observed on the booster’s RL10 upper stage engine.
Accident investigation board.
Raumfahrt+Astronomie-Blog von CENAP - Blog: Raumfahrt - Vorbereitung für Start von Ariane-V-VA215 mit EUTELSAT 25B und GSAT-7. 2nd Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Successfully Completes 1st Flight. – 17 junio, 2012Posted in: I+D y Espacio VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., June 16, 2012 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] Orbital looking to build a mini Space Shuttle? ULA Atlas V launches X-37B on OTV-3 mission. December 11, 2012 by William Graham United Launch Alliance have launched the third X-37B mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Liftoff of the spaceplane, aboard an Atlas V 501 from Space Launch Complex 41, is scheduled for 18:03 UTC (13:03 EST). Atlas V Launch: The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 3, or OTV-3, mission is the third spaceflight of the X-37 programme, and will use the same spacecraft which flew the OTV-1 mission, making it the first X-37B to be reused.
Reusability has always been a goal for the programme, however further flights were uncertain before the success of the first mission. Upon reaching orbit, it is expected the mission will be redesignated USA-240 in keeping with the designation system used for many large US military spacecraft; the OTV-1 and OTV-2 missions were known as USA-212 and USA-226 respectively. The X-37 programme was started by NASA, but taken over by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2004. (Images via ULA). Pinterest. Sssh! Secretive U.S. military spaceplane set to launch today. U S Launches Secretive X 37B Spacecraft Raw Video) X 37B US Military Launches Top Secret 'Robocraft' Space Plane.
Boeing - X-37B Unmanned Space Fighter Lands At Vandenberg Air Force Base. Secret X-37B craft lands after 15-month mission - today > tech. The U.S. Boeing's Reusable, Unmanned X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Begins Second Flight. Boeing has successfully returned an unmanned U.S. Air Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle to orbit, continuing to demonstrate how the system provides responsive, reusable access to space. An Atlas V rocket launched OTV-1, the first of two vehicles in the program, into a low Earth orbit at 1:03 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 41. The X-37B, which combines the best of aircraft and spacecraft design in an unmanned test platform, is testing reusable vehicle technologies dealing with space experimentation, risk reduction and concept-of-operations development.
"The second mission for OTV-1 demonstrates the vehicle is capable of multiple missions and affordable access to space," said Paul Rusnock, vice president of Boeing Government Space Systems. OTV-1 was first launched in April 2010 and returned to Earth that December. Air Force Launches Boeing X-37B Into Orbit. Second X-37B Mission Ends - NASA Watch. Super Secret U.S Space Plane Powered By Solar Energy. Boeing X-37. On Jun. 16, 2012 at 05.48 AM local (12.48 GMT), 469 days after it was launched, the Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California at the end of the longest space mission only after the Discovery shuttle program. The venicle glided powerless to landing on Vandenberg’s runway, located some 150 miles to the northwest of Los Angeles,. The X-37B OTV-2, one of two unmanned, reusable space planes, about a fourhty the size of the shuttle, was launched atop an Atlas 5 rocket on Mar. 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to conduct on-orbit experiments and checkout of the vehicle itself.
However, since it is a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency project since 2004, secrecy surrounds the scope and details of the long OTV-2 journey around the planet. According to Spaceflight Now, speculations about the real purposes of the the test bed “has ranged from secret flyby surveillance of China’s orbital station to the weaponization of space.” Secretive Military X-37B Spaceplane Headed Back to Earth. The United Space Alliance by Lockheed-Martin and Boeing for human launch, and the X-37B. The United Launch Alliance is a partnership of multiple American companies producing (1) rockets and/or (2) manned capsules. It is largely a response to the retirement of the Space Shuttle (planned at the time), which leaves America with no human launch capability, whereby NASA has subsidized the most promising alternative human launch systems in a diversified way.
One of the ideas of the United Launch Alliance is that once company's rocket can launch another company's manned capsule, interchangably. X-37: More secrets of the Pentagon's spaceship. U.S.SECRET AIR FORCE X-37B SPACE PLANE IS A ‘SPECTACULAR SUCCESS’ « Världsinbördeskriget. Fox News on May 8, 2012, published a Space.com report on the U.S. Air Force’s secretive robotic X-37B space plane mission continuing to chalk up time in Earth orbit, nearing 430 days of a spaceflight that — while classified — appears to be an unqualified success.
China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #58–“Shenlong ‘Divine Dragon’ Takes Flight: Is China developing its first spaceplane?” Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins, “Shenlong ‘Divine Dragon’ Takes Flight: Is China developing its first spaceplane?” China SignPost™ (洞察中国), No. 58 (4 May 2012). China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis. Boeing X-37B Unmanned Space Vehicle a ‘Spectacular Success’ Built partly by workers in Seal Beach, the unmanned space plane has been in orbit for more than five months longer than originally expected and is earning Air Force praise. Spaceplane Development Becomes a New Dimension of Emerging U.S.-China Space Competition. Access full text reports, backup data, and more. Deep Dive–Special In-Depth Report #4 Spaceplane development is becoming the newest frontier in the emerging space development competition between the U.S. and China. Winged spaceplanes operate as spacecraft in space and aircraft in Earth’s atmosphere, and typically land on runways.
They range from hypersonic cruise vehicles (HCV)s capable of maneuvering at Mach 5+ (3,800+ mph/6,125+ kmh) or more to reusable launch vehicles (RLV)s like the Space Shuttle designed primarily to ferry cargo to orbit and back. This is a difficult area to master, and U.S. programs have experienced a variety of problems. Boeing X-37. Air Force launching secretive X-37B space plane - Technology & science - Space - Space.com. Mini-shuttle X-37B talk stirs optimism on Space Coast. CAPE CANAVERAL — The military’s mysterious mini-shuttle operations might be consolidated on Florida’s Space Coast, and the upcoming third flight of the Air Force vehicle might land at Kennedy Space Center’s three-mile shuttle runway. In what could be an economic boon for an area still reeling from the 2011 retirement of the U.S. shuttle fleet, the Air Force said Thursday it was considering moving X-37B operations to KSC or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Moreover, the upcoming third flight of the unmanned X-37B — a hush-hush vehicle also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, or OTV — could be capped with a return to NASA’s Shuttle Landing Facility. Maj. Tracy Bunko, a spokesperson for the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, said the service is “looking at space shuttle infrastructure for possible cost-saving measures, including the potential for consolidating landing, refurbishment and launch operations at Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.” Drones in the USA - SkyNET ALERT! - Attack of the Robots - 10-02-2012 CV3D.
Boeing’s second X-37B OTV completes first flight. Second X-37B Mission Ends. X-37B: Secret space plane 1 year on mystery mission. Mystery: U.S X-37B space plane has been in orbit for over a year. Mysterious X-37 Space Plane in Orbit Over a Year and Counting - SciForums.com. Test Flight of X-37, predecessor of X-37B. Boeing vs Boeing. Boeing vs. Boeing. Weapons suspended over his head: the X-37B space planes – Military Frontier.