The Air Force’s Mysterious unmanned X-37B space plane hitching a ride on an Atlas V rocket on 22nd April. Nobody knows when it is coming back or what its mission is.
About the X-37B, the rumors have been building for a few years now, ever since this project came under the auspices of the Department of Defense and it became classified in 2004.
Will it be weaponized? Is it for intelligence gathering? or is it nothing more than orbital delivery truck? From the Air Force’s official description of the program:
“A flexible space test platform to conduct several experiments and allow satellite sensors, components, subsystems and associated technology to be transported efficiently to and from the space environment. The service directly supports the Defense Department’s technology risk-reduction efforts for some new satellite systems. It will prove new components and technology before those technologies are committed to operational satellite programs by providing an ‘on-orbit laboratory’ test environment.”
The X37B is co-developed by Boeing and is just 29 feet long and it can stay in orbit for up to nine months.
For now, the main ambition seems to be if the Air Force can successfully retrieve it in good condition to re-use.
