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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Chasing the Military's Secret X-37B Space Plane

    Chasing the Military's Secret X-37B Space Plane

    Updated: Friday, 19 Nov 2010, 12:09 PM MST
    Published : Friday, 19 Nov 2010, 12:09 PM MST

    (CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - A new top-secret military plane is becoming a cat-and-mouse game for amateur astronomers and a cause of concern for other countries.

    News.com.au reported that the X-37B was built by Boeing's Phantom Works division and originally headed by NASA. It later became part of the Pentagon's research and development arm and then became part of a secretive Air Force unit.

    Allegedly only a few in the military know its purpose.

    The Christian Science Monitor said amateur sky-watchers have seen it flying in a direction that takes it over Iraq and Afghanistan.

    It was first launched on an orbital test flight on April 22 from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The sky-watchers said they have seen it recently about 255 miles up circling the Earth every 90 minutes.

    The plane, which is unmanned, looks like a miniature space shuttle. The Air Force claims to be testing the plane's performance in orbit, how it flies itself to the ground and how quickly it can be re-launched.

    The Christian Science Monitor said Brian Weedon, a former Air Force missile officer who advises the space-security focused Secure World Foundation on space issues, has made a list of possible missions.

    These include carrying and testing sensors that are being used on spy satellites or will be used in the future, deploying satellites, repairing malfunctioning satellites by loading them up and bringing them back to Earth for repairs, and as a weapon.

    Weedon has doubts about the last one, saying it glides slowly to a landing and would be easy to shoot down as it travels in a straight line.

    Whatever its purpose, Wired.com said it is raising concerns from other countries that the X-37 could be used to spy on or hijack their own satellites.

    Weedon said the U.S. government should share space-tracking technology and data to defuse some of the concern.

    http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpps/news/c ... c_10693153
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  2. #2
    Senior Member Bowman's Avatar
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    Re: Chasing the Military's Secret X-37B Space Plane

    Quote Originally Posted by JohnDoe2
    The Christian Science Monitor said amateur sky-watchers have seen it flying in a direction that takes it over Iraq and Afghanistan.
    Every low earth orbit satellite (like this one) flies over at least 40% of the earth's surface including Iraq and Afghanistan, it's due to their orbital inclination. The satellites I used to help launch into polar orbit travel over 95% of the earth's surface twice a day.
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