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Photos - X-37B: Mission Of Mysterious Boeing Space Plane Extended
Submitted by gaf on December 6, 2011 - 09:53
The X-37B space plane, a secretive shuttle-like vehicle currently orbiting the earth at 17,000 miles per hour, will be staying in space longer than originally planned, the Associated Press reports.
The 29-foot solar-powered craft had an original mission of 270 days and, according to RedOrbit, the X-37B should have landed on Wednesday at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
PHOTOS BELOW
"We initially planned for a nine-month mission, which we are roughly at now, but we will continue to extend the mission as circumstances allow," Lt. Col Tom McIntyre, the vehicle's systems program director, told the Los Angeles Times. "Keeping the X-37 in orbit will provide us with additional experimentation opportunities and allow us to extract the maximum value out of the mission."
The Air Force has said that the objective of the X-37B is to test unmanned, reusable space technology and conduct orbital experiments, but many skeptics think that the vehicle's mission is somehow defense or spy-related.
In May of 2010, The New York Times reported that amateur astronomers were able to detect the orbital pattern of the first X-37B, heightening suspicion that the vehicle was being used for surveillance. According to that report, the X37-B's orbital path included flyovers of areas such as North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
According to X-37B manufacturer Boeing, the space plane operates in low-earth orbit, between 110 and 500 miles above Earth. By comparison, the International Space Station orbits at about 220 miles above Earth.
The current X-37B flight launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla. in March of 2011. The first X-37B mission landed successfully in December 2010 after seven months in orbit.
LOOK: Pictures of the Boeing X-37B:
Reference:
Timothy Stenovec - The Huffington Post
This picture provided by the US Air Force shows personnel inspecting the X-37B, the Air Force's first unmanned re-entry spacecraft, after landing on December 3, 2010 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The X-37B, named Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (OTV-1), conducted on-orbit experiments for more than 220 days during its maiden voyage, and fired its orbital maneuver engine in low-earth orbit to perform an autonomous re-entry before landing, according to the Air Force. (Getty)
This picture provided by the US Air Force shows personnel inspecting the X-37B, the Air Force's first unmanned re-entry spacecraft, after landing on December 3, 2010 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The X-37B, named Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (OTV-1), conducted on-orbit experiments for more than 220 days during its maiden voyage, and fired its orbital maneuver engine in low-earth orbit to perform an autonomous reentry before landing, according to the Air Force. (Getty)
This picture provided by the US Air Force shows personnel inspecting the X-37B, the Air Force's first unmanned re-entry spacecraft, after landing on December 3, 2010 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The X-37B, named Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (OTV-1), conducted on-orbit experiments for more than 220 days during its maiden voyage, and fired its orbital maneuver engine in low-earth orbit to perform an autonomous reentry before landing, according to the Air Force. (Getty)
This picture provided by the US Air Force shows personnel inspecting the X-37B, the Air Force's first unmanned re-entry spacecraft, after landing on December 3, 2010 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The X-37B, named Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (OTV-1), conducted on-orbit experiments for more than 220 days during its maiden voyage, and fired its orbital maneuver engine in low-earth orbit to perform an autonomous reentry before landing, according to the Air Force. (Getty)
his picture provided by the US Air Force shows personnel inspecting the X-37B, the Air Force's first unmanned re-entry spacecraft, after landing on December 3, 2010 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The X-37B, named Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (OTV-1), conducted on-orbit experiments for more than 220 days during its maiden voyage, and fired its orbital maneuver engine in low-earth orbit to perform an autonomous reentry before landing, according to the Air Force. (Getty)
This NASA image obtained on December 1, 2010 shows an artist's rendition of the X-37B as it might look like orbiting Earth. The plane is scheduled to return to Earth as early as December 3,2010 Air Force officials said on November 30, 2010. The X-37B, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle 1, was launched atop an Atlas 5 rocket on April 22, 2010. It has been circling the Earth since then and performing a mission that has been covered in secrecy. (GETTY)
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with the U.S. Air Force's second Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-2) launches from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 5:46 p.m. Eastern time on March 5, 2011. (Boeing).
The second Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, built for the U.S. Air Force, is shown here during encapsulation within the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 5-meter fairing at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., on Feb. 8, 2011. (Boeing)
The second Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, built for the U.S. Air Force, is shown here during encapsulation within the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 5-meter fairing at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., on Feb. 8, 2011. (Boeing)
The X-37B is shown here after landing at 1:16 a.m. Pacific time on December 3, 2010, concluding its more than 220-day experimental test mission. It was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on April 22, 2010. (Boeing)
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