A U.S. Air Force X-37B space plane, encapsulated ahead of a
planned May 16, 2020, launch, the sixth mission for the X-37B program. (Image
credit: U.S. Air Force) |
The X-37B orbital vehicle of the Department of Defense is
described in detail.
The uncrewed X-37B spy plane of the United States Department
of Defense is one of the most intriguing spaceships in the world, flying
frequent covert missions whose intentions are unknown. However, information
regarding the ship, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), has surfaced in
dribs and drabs throughout the years. Here are ten things that can be claimed
with certainty regarding the mysterious spacecraft.
Basic facts are available
As previously reported by Live Science's sister site
Space.com, NASA created the reusable X-37B in 1999, which looks like a smaller
version of one of NASA's now-retired space shuttles. It is around 29 feet (8.8
metres) in length and 9.5 feet (2.9 metres) in height, with a wingspan of just
less than 15 feet (4.6 m). On the launchpad, it weighs 11,000 pounds (4,990
kg).
The X-37B takes off vertically, like the space shuttle, and
is propelled by a rocket. It can navigate on its own once in orbit, and it
finally lands on a runway on Earth, just like a regular plane. The vehicle
features a modest cargo space, about the size of a pickup truck bed, which
allows it to transport satellites and equipment. According to its maker,
Boeing, it works at an altitude of 150 to 500 miles (240 to 805 kilometres)
above Earth.
Different military branches have had it over the years
According to Space.com, NASA delivered two X-37B vehicles to
the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2004.
According to Military.com, a news and information website for military members,
the robotic spy planes were operated by the US Air Force for many years before
being transferred to the newly formed Space Force in 2020.
Nobody knows quite what it's up to
Despite completing six missions, the X-37B's exact mission
remains unknown. Surveillance of the Earth's surface from above and the
deployment of spy satellites are two possibilities, however nothing has ever
been confirmed.
Other possibilities include the possibility that the X-37B
is a space-based bomber, a vehicle for spying on the Chinese space station, or
a way for the US military to tamper with other countries' satellites. Experts
have slammed the door on all of these plans, claiming that they would take a
lot of fuel or be too simple to trace back to the US military.
It can remain in space for years
The first of the two X-37Bs was launched in 2010 and spent
224 days in space. Its companion vehicle took to the skies a year later and
stayed in orbit for more than twice as long.
The current record for the spacecraft is 780 days in orbit,
or more than two years, set during the X-37B's sixth trip. What it was doing
all that time up there is still a mystery.
It can launch on a SpaceX rocket
While the X-37B has traditionally been launched by United
Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket, it is capable of being launched by a variety
of launchers. In 2017, the military switched things up a little and sent it
into orbit using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
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