http://nanobiotechnews.com/project-x-37b-otv-aerospace.html
The U.S. Air Force into orbit a second X-37B secret mini-Shuttle surrounded by an enormous secrecy. The second minitransbordador unmanned X-37B, Blasted off from Cape Canaveral with a day late after being suspended the launch on Friday March 4, 2011, due to cloudy weather and windy it was at launch.
Although Saturday morning the weather with her, had to postpone release again until 17:46, when the East Coast of the United States, that day when detecting a fault in a valve having to be repaired in the last minute.
The mission is of a classified, although the leaders of the Air Force stated that the purpose was to test new technologies space. However, the secrecy surrounding the mission and the time the ship remains in orbit has alerted several nations if it could be a space weapon. The spacecraft was put into orbit hidden in the upper cone of a rocket type Atlas VOf disposable type.
Features:
The ship is similar to the space shuttles used by NASA but with much smaller dimensions, so much so, that would fit two X-37B aircraft in the hold of a NASA space shuttle. Specifically, the vehicle is about 9 meters long and 4.5 meters wide with a height that is less than 3 meters. Its light weight gives it a body of less than 5 tonnes.
Despite its small size, a powerful engine of 29,341 kN can accelerate the spacecraft to reach more than 28,000 km / h, maintaining its orbit for 7 months, fueled by solar panels with solar cells.
Perhaps most disturbing of all is that no crew thanks to avionics systems similar to those used in the unmanned aircraft RAPTOR. This fact together with the secrecy that has surrounded the project and its launch has been responsible for Russia and China set off alarms.
Development and purpose of the X-37B OTV:
The program of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (Orbital Test Vehicle), has been developed with the participation of government, the arms company DARPA, Air Force and NASA, Boeing remains the prime contractor for the program. Although the original X37 program belonged to the NASA program, which began in 1999 with the aim of creating reusable vehicles, the project was transferred in September 2004 the company DARPA character becoming classified.
The first evidence against the company DARPA during April 2006, when he dropped an X-37 spacecraft called Lifelong Learning, which stands for test vehicle approach and landing, making the first orbital test in December 2010.
The ultimate goal and actual project is still classified, so only expect to fit the statements are true and only case of a program to test new technologies, although it is doubt and fear if the USAF is developing some kind of space weapon or maybe some new type of surveillance system.
The latter is certainly due to the height at which orbits where spy satellites are positioned, and that can take up to four times per hour over the same geographical point. Needless to say the project will continue to matter classified so we can only rely on the truth and we have not reached the age of space wars or the thinking machines.
