Delta IV rocket blasts off carrying "next generation" GPS satellite

Delta IV rocket blasts off carrying "next generation" satellite

The Delta IV rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying a "next-generation" satellite for the U.S. Air Force.

USAF Boeing X-37B: 500 days in orbit and more speculation

The highly extended mission hints that there's more than mundane testing on this flight. Perhaps components that were undergoing testing on previous flights are now on a true operational mission. 

Or perhaps we are witnessing a long endurance run to prove that certain critical satellite parts can work reliably for a long-duration spy satellite. Both theories are plausible.

With more than 500 days in orbit, the third mission of the mysterious X-37B spaceplane is not only longer than any previous flight, but also much stranger.

The X-37B is a robotic spacecraft launched by the US Air Force on a secret mission that has generally eluded boffins and analysts.

It's not unusual for nations to launch secret spacecraft, but it's often the case that their true missions can be deduced.

The size of the rocket, the orbit and other factors can give analysts clues that a certain satellite is an optical spy satellite, a radar observation satellite or a classified communications satellite.

Knowing that the secrecy is sometimes just a formality, some missions have patches that hint at their true missions, like owl's eyes and large mesh arrays with the motto "We own the night".

Suspicions that this was a radar observation satellite that could see targets in the dark were confirmed.

No such clues have been dropped for X-37B. Part of its mission is known, thanks to US Air Force statements and the fact that X-37B was once a civilian project operated by NASA.

This is an experimental spaceplane designed to test new technologies, ranging from "robot pilot" avionics to an advanced heatshield system.

Photography of the exterior of this spaceplane has been extensive, both before and after landing.

There's more mystery surrounding what lies inside. X-37B features a small shuttle-like payload bay in its middle, with clamshell doors that open in space.

We know that there's a solar panel inside that unfurls from a mast once the X-37B is in orbit but there's room for other items too.

Exactly what else is inside, and what it's doing, has confounded the media and the space community.

This analyst has suggested that X-37B is conducting mundane but critical tests of electromechanical components intended for future US national security satellites.

The parts are operated in open space for long periods then returned to Earth for study.

Other analysts have suggested that the vehicle is conducting a semi-operational mission that involves the use of sensors for Earth observation.

USAF X-37B Space Plane: 1 Year in Orbit

The U.S. Air Force's secretive X-37B space plane program has passed another milestone: Its latest mission marked one year in orbit this week.

The reusable unmanned X-37B space plane, flying what the U.S. military calls the Orbital Test Vehicle 3 (OTV-3) mission, began its second flight on Dec. 11, 2012, launching atop an Atlas 5 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

 But what it's been doing for the last 12 months remains a mystery. The details of the mission, including its payloads and objectives, have been kept classified.

Northrop Grumman RQ-180: US Air Force has secret new stealth drone

The RQ180, a large, classified unmanned aircraft developed by Northrop Grumman, is now flying—and it demonstrates a major advance in combining stealth and aerodynamic efficiency.

Defense and intelligence officials say the secret unmanned aerial system (UAS), designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, is scheduled to enter production for the U.S. Air Force and could be operational by 2015.

Funded through the Air Force’s classified budget, the program to build this new UAS, the RQ-180, was awarded to Northrop Grumman after a competition that included Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

The aircraft will conduct the penetrating ISR mission that has been left unaddressed, and under wide debate, since retirement of the Lockheed SR-71 (Blackbird) in 1998.

Neither the Air Force nor Northrop Grumman would speak about the classified airplane. When queried about the project, Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Cassidy said, “The Air Force does not discuss this program.”

RQ-180

The RQ-180 carries radio-frequency sensors such as active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and passive electronic surveillance measures, according to one defense official. It could also be capable of electronic attack missions.

This aircraft’s design is key for the shift of Air Force ISR assets away from “permissive” environments—such as Iraq and Afghanistan, where Northrop Grumman’s non-stealthy Global Hawk and General Atomics’ Reaper operate—and toward operations in “contested” or “denied” airspace.

RQ-4B Global Hawk

The new UAS underpins the Air Force’s determination to retire a version of the RQ-4B Global Hawk after 2014, despite congressional resistance.

RQ-170 Sentinel

The RQ-180 eclipses the smaller, less stealthy and shorter-range RQ-170 Sentinel.

If the previous patterns for secret ISR aircraft operations are followed, the new UAV will be jointly controlled by the Air Force and the CIA, with the program managed by the Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office and flight operations sustained by the Air Force.

This arrangement has been used for the RQ-170, which is operated by the Air Force’s 30th Reconnaissance Sqdn., according to a fact sheet the Air Force released after one of the aircraft turned up in Iran.

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USAF Mysterious X-37B Space Plane Nears One Year In Orbit

This NASA Marshall Space Flight Centre image shows on-orbit functions for the reusable X-37 space plane, now under the wing of the U.S. Air Force. 

Credit: NASA/MSFC

The U.S. Air Force's mysterious X-37B space plane is nearing a major milestone — one year of travel in Earth orbit, performing duties in support of long-term space objectives.

The unmanned X-37B spacecraft — flying a mission known as Orbital Test Vehicle 3 (OTV-3) — launched into space atop an Atlas 5 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 11, 2012.

What payloads the space plane is toting and the overall mission goals on its confidential cruise are classified.

But it is known that the OTV-3 mission signals a milestone for the X-37B program.

This same vehicle was flown on the X-37B program's inaugural flight back in 2010.

That OTV-1 mission lasted nearly 225 days in orbit, gliding back to Earth on autopilot over the Pacific Ocean and touching down at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

An OTV-2 mission, which used a different X-37B space plane, was lofted in 2011. That vehicle flew for 469 days, more than doubling its sister ship’s space stay, concluding its mission by also making a Vandenberg landing.



Next-generation technology
According to a Boeing fact sheet, each space plane is built with lightweight composite structures, rather than traditional aluminum.

A new generation of high-temperature leading-edge tiles for the wings is utilized, distinct from the space shuttle’s carbon leading-edge segments.

The X-37B is outfitted with toughened uni-piece fibrous insulation impregnated silica tiles, which are significantly more durable than the first-generation tiles used by the space shuttle.

Advanced conformal reusable insulation blankets are used for the first time on the X-37B.

The Boeing fact sheet also points out that avionics on an X-37B are designed to automate all de-orbit and landing functions.

Additionally, there are no hydraulics onboard the winged vehicle; flight controls and brakes use electromechanical actuation.

USAF Cape Canaveral: First Stage of Atlas V rocket

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida, preparations are underway to erect the first stage of the Atlas V rocket that will carry the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, into orbit.

TDRS-K is the first of three next-generation communications satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for NASA.

The seven TDRS spacecraft currently in orbit provide tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth.

These include NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. TDRS-K has a high-performance solar panel designed for more spacecraft power to meet growing S-band communications requirements.

Image Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

NASA Astronaut Neil Armstrong with his fellow USAF Test Pilots

Title: NASA Test Pilots

This picture includes John McKay, Neil Armstrong (2nd from Right), Robert White, Joe Walker

Credit Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive