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.

Russian Hypersonic Space Race hots up

US Hypersonic X51A Waverider

The Russian Defence Ministry will start testing advanced hypersonic missiles in the coming summer.

At present, Russia is conducting research in several areas of developing hypersonic technology, but it's unclear which will be successful.

The work on hypersonic vehicles conducted by the Soviet Union and the U.S. during the Cold War was suspended after it was ended but it has restarted now.

Both countries are aimed at creating guided means of destruction which should be an alternative to intercontinental ballistic missiles. This task was set at the dawn of the hypersonic technology.

At present, the main task is to develop an engine capable of giving the vehicle necessary speed. The manoeuvering warheads are not facing this problem because the booster gives them the necessary speed. The present task is to develop a hypersonic reusable vehicle.

This task is being solved in the U.S. where an experimental vehicle X-27 has been developed. Its testing started in 2010. At present, it is making the third orbital flight started in December 2012.

It will continue for several months. The testing is aimed at developing a hypersonic weapon carrier capable of manoeuvering in the orbit and entering the atmosphere to launch attacks on anywhere in the world.

But many problems, such as the designing of the vehicle, developing navigation and communication systems, are yet to be solved to achieve this goal. The traditional radio communication and radio navigation are not working during flights at hypersonic speeds in the atmosphere.

Russian developments of hypersonic vehicles are moving in several directions.

Russian specialists have achieved great success in developing manoeuvering warheads. Such warheads that are heavier and bigger than ordinary ones are capable of manoeuvering in the atmosphere. This excludes their interception by the existing and promising anti-missile defence systems.

A hypersonic missile for the Russian Navy will be developed in the next few years. The Tsirkon anti-ship system should be based on the hypersonic missile that is being developed by Russia and India on the basis of the Bramos missile.

The Russian Air Force is interested in such missiles but the speed of the missiles for it should be more than ten times the speed of sound.

US to launch a new Pilotless Secretive space plane - X-37B

The United States is planning a new launch of its tiny, pilotless military space plane on Tuesday as part of a futuristic Air Force program that has fueled speculation over its mission.

The X-37B, which weighs five tonnes and is 29 feet (8.9 meters) long, can return material to Earth in the way of the retired shuttle Orbiter program but is designed to stay in orbit for much longer at 270 days.

The last X-37B returned in June after orbiting for 469 days in a test of endurance.

The United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, approved the X-37B at Cape Canaveral in Florida after finding no danger following an anomaly during a separate launch two months ago.

The company said in a statement that a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite was put into orbit as expected on October 4 but that a fuel leak took place inside the thrust chamber, triggering an investigation.

Patrick Air Force Base gave notice of a hazard from a launch between 10:45 am to 5:15 pm (1545 to 2215 GMT) on Tuesday.

Authorities have said little more about the X-37B. An Air Force fact sheet described it as "experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the US Air Force."

The secretive nature of the equipment on the X-37B has led to speculation in the media over its true nature, with some experts saying it could eventually be designed to tamper with satellites from rival nations.

China in 2007 became the first nation after the United States and the former Soviet Union to shoot down one of its own satellites, in a test seen in Washington as a sign of the rising power's ambitions in space.

The X-37B project was launched by the space agency NASA in 1999 before being adopted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which designs new technologies for the US military.