X-37B: Conspiracy theories surround top-secret space plane mystery

[Sunny-side-up]

The plane spent nearly two years circling Earth on a classified mission.
Known as the X-37B, it resembles a mini space shuttle.
It safely touched down in the early hours of this morning, officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base said.
Just what the plane was doing during its 674 days in orbit has been the subject of sometimes spectacular speculation.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/odd/a/25291823/consiparacy-theories-surround-top-secret-space-plane-mystery/
Can anyone add/have ideas/knowledge about this craft and it's 2 year mission?

[Cidersomerset]

I saw this article a couple of days ago , I thought it was a spy plane of some sort.......I like the designation X 37B. As opposed to the TR3B giant black
triangular craft....


http://www.arkcode.com/images/tr-3b_photos_1-6.jpg


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To be fair to the correspondent he does say at the bottom of the article...


The reality is that no-one really knows what this vehicle does. The only
credible explanation I have seen
is that it is testing technologies that could find their way on to future satellite missions.





http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/2.72.5/desktop/3.5/img/blq-blocks_grey_alpha.png


17 October 2014 Last updated at 23:15

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Space plane: Mysterious US military plane returns to EarthJump
The pictures released give little away about the plane's purpose
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
US spaceplane 'spying on China'

An unmanned US plane on a top-secret, two-year mission to space has returned to Earth and landed in California.

The aircraft, resembling a miniature space shuttle and known as the Orbital Test Vehicle or X-37B, spent
674 days in orbit around the planet.

It was the unmanned plane's third space flight, but its mission has been shrouded in mystery.

A theory that it was taking a look at China's space lab has been downplayed by experts.

Air Force officials have only told US media the aircraft performs "risk reduction, experimentation and
concept-of-operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies".

Continue reading the main story
X-37B - American military spaceplane
Mission: Described as a re-usable testbed for new sensors and other space technologies
Length: 9m (29ft); Wingspan: 4.5m (14ft); Height: 3m (9.5ft); Mass: 5t (11,000lb)
Origins: Started as a Nasa project in 1999 before being handed to the military in 2006
Cost: The budget line for the X-37B programme continues to be classified information

The X-37B programme, started in 1999 and is currently run by the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office.

The first plane flew in April 2010 and returned after eight months. The second launched in March 2011
and remained in space for 15 months.

The current aircraft - built by Boeing - uses solar panels for power in orbit, measures over 29ft (9m) long,
has a wingspan of nearly 15ft and a weight of 11,000lbs (4,989 kg).

It looks like a mini space shuttle and can glide back down through the atmosphere to land on a runway,
just like Nasa's re-usable manned spaceplane used to do before its retirement.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/78366000/jpg/_78366372_78366371.jpg

An infrared view of the spaceplane An infrared view of the spaceplane was released in 2012

The X-37B appeared at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on 3 December 2010 A fourth X-37B
mission is currently scheduled for 2015

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/78367000/jpg/_78367238_secret3.jpg

A fourth X-37B mission is said to be planned for launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2015.

Europe is to test its own automated space plane technology in the coming weeks.

The IXV vehicle will be launched into space atop a rocket from French Guiana and then make its way
back through the atmosphere to splash down in the ocean.


http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/78369000/gif/_78369947_x37b_info466.gif


BBC News science correspondent Jonathan Amos

The reality is that no-one really knows what this vehicle does. The only credible explanation I have seen
is that it is testing technologies that could find their way on to future satellite missions.

If you consider how expensive a satellite mission is - several hundred million dollars - you'd like to be sure
that any innovations are going to work straight out of the box.

By flying early prototypes on the X-37B, you can test these technologies so that when you put them on
future satellite missions, you can be sure they will deliver.

Nasa recently agreed to give over work space formerly used to service the shuttles at the Kennedy Space
Center to the X-37B programme, which tells us this is a long-term project for the Air Force. Whatever it is
they are doing up there, they deem it to be high value.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-29669205


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Air Force's X-37B: Secret Space Plane Returns to Earth

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Published on 15 Oct 2014


Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- After nearly two years in orbit, the Air Force's mysterious
X-37B space plane is reportedly returning to Earth. There are many theories about
the classified mission, but none have been confirmed. For now, here's what is
known about the super-secret spacecraft. Video by: Alan Jeffries, Jennafer Savino. (Source: Bloomberg)

--Subscribe to Bloomberg on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/Bloomberg

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[Atlas]

Here is a recent thread (started 2 days ago):

projectavalon.net/Space-Plane-Reception (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?76099-Space-Plane-Reception)