X-37

SpaceNut · 2006-11-19 21:48:35

Yep you seem to be right, here's a X-37 factsheet
The X-37 is nearly 27.5 feet long and weighs about 5 tons at launch. Its wingspan is approximately 15 feet, and it contains an experiment bay 7 feet long and 4 feet
in diameter.
Replacing the ISS with it is an interesting idea, but where would you find a crew small enough?

I am quite surprised that the document was still available since back in late 2003 the project was part of those on the cancellation list and only a couple ended up being deferred to the airforce.

IIRC the shuttle was to be the carrier on at least the first few missions to prove out the shipps worthyness as a Crew resque Vehicle. Some where here I believe I have posted to this but it was a long time ago.

The Airforce has plenty of money an the payoff is big once it is completed.

Jack Chandley · 2006-11-30 11:32:50

Yep you seem to be right, here's a X-37 factsheet
The X-37 is nearly 27.5 feet long and weighs about 5 tons at launch. Its wingspan is approximately 15 feet, and it contains an experiment bay 7 feet long and 4 feet
in diameter.
Replacing the ISS with it is an interesting idea, but where would you find a crew small enough?

Ok, I thought your joke was funny. Even if no one else seemed to get it.

cIclops · 2006-12-02 07:21:16

Ripped from factsheet

ps Cheers Jack :>

Terraformer · 2008-02-23 09:41:29

So, anymore releases about it? I'm working off the basis that, while unreliable, if anything [that isn't kept secret] exists it'll be on Wikipedia. And so far it hasn't said anything about it being cancelled. Maybe it worked and DARPAs keeping mum because of that.

SpaceNut · 2011-11-28 19:50:26

At the end of November, the mysterious X-37B robot spaceplane will reach a critical point in its mission. This time will mark the end of the official 270-day endurance limit of the semi-secret military shuttle.

http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Com … B_999.html

SpaceNut · 2013-12-07 10:37:31

This space plane is from the ISS Shuttle era that was to be a rescue vehicle for crew that got terminated by the ending of the shuttle. The Airforce did take it over and has continued to make it a reality.

Air Force's mysterious space plane nears 1 year In orbit

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.

SpaceNut · 2015-03-30 22:06:49

Mysterious mini spaceplane the next Atlas 5 payload

With its new homeport in renovated NASA space shuttle hangars off in the distance, the Air Force’s X-37 mini spaceplane will be launched from Cape Canaveral on May 6 for its fourth journey into orbit.
The Orbital Test Vehicle will be the primary payload aboard the next United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the 54th Atlas 5 and ULA’s 96th mission overall. The launch has a codename AFSPC 5 for the Air Force Space Command flight No. 5.
Liftoff is targeted some time between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT (1300-1700 GMT).

The rocket will fly in its 501 configuration rising off the launch pad on 860,000 pounds of the thrust powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 main engine for the first four-and-a-half minutes of flight.

The Centaur and its Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 then takes over for a 13-minute burn that places the X-37 mini shuttle into low-Earth orbit.
The Air Force won’t yet confirm which of the Boeing-built spaceplanes will be making the voyage. The first craft returned in October from a 675-day mission in space following a 224 day trek in 2010. OTV No. 2 spent 469 days in space in 2011-2012 on its only mission so far.

SpaceNut · 2015-04-24 19:25:37

Fourth X-37B flight a month away from launching

"The liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is slated for May 20, some time during a period of 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT."

“We are excited about our fourth X-37B mission,” said Randy Walden, the director of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. “With the demonstrated success of the first three missions, we’re able to shift our focus from initial checkouts of the vehicle to testing of experimental payloads.”
The Air Force said its Rapid Capabilities Office had collaborated with several partners to test “new experiments on this fourth flight for the X-37B program.”

GW Johnson · 2015-04-25 11:22:59

One of the news reports I saw on-line said they were going to test some experimental propulsion in this flight. Unspecified as to what. But solar-powered electric would make a lot of sense.

GW

SpaceNut · 2015-04-25 19:03:59

I agree that having an engine with the same mission logevity for pushing the ship around in orbit would have wuite the benifits for an unmanned vehicle but since it has no means to grapple anything then all it can do is ram it and its not even man capable for being a rescue ship so what is the thought process in its current state?

GW Johnson · 2015-04-26 14:14:23

When they're just checking out a new technology, it doesn't have to do anything but show a delta-vee. Watch for changes in orbital parameters, or in orbital plane changes.

My best guess (ignorant as it is) is that they have been testing various subminiature entry vehicles released from their orbiting vehicle. This is USAF, not NASA, after all. They would be interested in weapons technology, would they not?

GW

GW Johnson · 2015-04-28 14:48:45

I ran across an Air Force news release that the experimental propulsion is a Hall effect thruster. It must be a newer or improved version; those have been around a while.

GW

SpaceNut · 2015-07-14 20:39:35

Modified XR‑5 Hall thruster operates successfully on orbit five kilowatt Hall Thruster

The improved XR‑5 Hall Thruster (designated the XR‑5A) has passed initial orbital validation testing on the United States Air Force’s X-37B spacecraft on the AFSPC-5 mission

Aerojet-Rocketdyne’s-Upgraded-XR-5A-Hall-Thruster-Demonstrates-Successful-On-Orbit-Operation-628x655.jpg

SpaceNut · 2019-07-31 21:08:04

Ex-USAF Secretary reveals X-37B capability to drive America's adversaries 'nuts'

tahanson43206 · 2020-05-07 14:36:28

Here is an update for the X-37 topic. The most recent previous entry was in 2006!

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/spac … 37866.html

I am ** very ** happy to see (what is reported to be) a US military interest in Solar Power from Space.

The justification given was supply of power to military operations. Success would reduce dependence on vulnerable petroleum supply lines, which were most recently severely impacted by enemy action in Afghanistan.

(th)

SpaceNut · 2020-05-08 07:49:47

The taking over of the project from Nasa was about removing things from there plate as the business was to switch from flying a shuttle to using a rocket much like Apollo on steroids'.
The military has continued to push on orbit duration which each secretive flight.

tahanson43206 · 2020-05-17 07:27:13

The X-37 just launched from Cape Canaveral.

https://www.crunchbase.com/organization … h-alliance

The launch appeared to proceed smoothly. While there are apparently a variety of experiments on board, the one I am interested in is the space power test.

The military would use space based power to provide power to military outposts which are in remote regions, thus reducing risk to personnel responsible for delivery of petroleum based energy supplies.

This launch was announced as a Space Force project (with Air Force cooperation).

(th)

SpaceNut · 2021-02-25 08:45:17

tahanson43206 wrote:

For SpaceNut ... this item could go several places, but I'll start it here ...
https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-scientists … 10556.html
— CNN (@CNN) February 24, 2021
The Pentagon sent a prototype PRAM into orbit in May 2020 aboard its secretive X-37B unmanned drone. The 12-inch-square photovoltaic panel showed it's capable of producing 10 watts of energy, or enough to power an iPad, to transmit back to Earth, Paul Jaffe at the U.S. Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., told CNN. The advantages of putting solar panels in space include constant sunlight, more powerful light including blue waves filtered out by the Earth's atmosphere, and the ability to direct power to where it's needed most at any given time.
From my perspective, this is exceedingly good news! The small scale of the project is particularly exciting (to me at least)
We (humans) have been stuck in a mental trap created by Peter Glaser and others who proposed Solar Power Satellites....
There was no GOOD reason to design an SPS as large as a football field!
It is just human nature to think on large scales.
The Pentagon experiment is perfect for homeowners in the US and around the world.
A homeowner like SpaceNut could have a small SPS set up just for his use. The receiving rectenna would (presumably) fit on a city block, although I'd definitely be interested in details of how large the Pentagon experimental receiving antenna was actually was to receive 10 watts.
Never-the-less, to-order personal-SPS are going to be ** very ** attractive to people all over the world as soon as word gets out.
It isn't the demonstration by the Pentagon that is so important. What ** is ** important is the destruction of the massive scale mindset that has inhibited SPS for decades.
Bravo!
Peter Glaser
Peter Glaser, the father of the solar power satellite concept. (Image credit: Arthur D. Little Inc. ) Peter Glaser, a space pioneer who introduced the idea of using satellites to beam solar energy from space down to Earth, has died at the age of 90.
Jun 9, 2014
Peter Glaser, Father of Solar-Power Satellite Idea, Dies at 90 | Space
www.space.com › 26175-peter-glaser-solar-power-satellite-obituary
About Featured Snippets
Peter Glaser, Father of Solar-Power Satellite Idea, Dies at 90
celebrity.yahoo.com › news › peter-glaser-father-solar-power-satellite-idea-...
Jun 9, 2014 · Peter Glaser, a space pioneer who introduced the idea of using satellites to beam solar energy from space down to Earth, has died at the age of ...
Edit#1: I read another article on this announcement, and am disappointed to have to report the X37b test was NOT a full test of the system. It was apparently only a test of a solar panel that might be used in a full system. I suppose that is good news, but solar panels have been working in space for many decades now.
However, the ** real ** breakthrough remains ... the mind set of colossal SPS is set aside in favor of thinking of small systems able to reliably serve a much smaller customer requirement.
(th)

SpaceNut · 2021-02-25 08:51:55

tahanson43206 wrote:

For Calliban re #379
Thanks for helpful (to me for sure) reminder of the reasons for the massive size of the original proposals for SPS in GEO!
My enthusiasm was released by the announcement of X37b research activity, but (of course) that work was done in LEO.
Your point about the time when the transmitter would be in position to deliver power is (of course) correct.
However, in an attempt to salvage something from the hint of an opportunity provided by the X37b announcement, I'd like to offer the suggestion that an SPS in Leo could deliver power to customers in its field of view for about 30 minutes at a time.
For a given 90 minute path that is near the equator, the satellite should be able to serve three customers.
If there were a constellation of these smaller systems in orbit, comparable to the Starlink system, then coverage over the entire Earth should be substantial.
Management of a fleet of these satellites would seem to be comparable to management of Starlink, with the additional challenge of pointing at specific locations on the ground with 1 meter accuracy.
***
Now I have to admit (with some embarrassmen) that the X37b study did NOT include transmission to the ground. I found a second article yesterday that contained more detail. All the experimenters were able to prove is that the solar panel worked. Why the Defense Department chose to publicize such a paltry accomplishment is a mystery to me.
Transmission through the atmosphere has been demonstrated for many decades. I don't know if any are still in service, but at one time, long ago, microwave towers were constructed to pass high volumes of data over considerable distances.
***
Your point about the size of the rectenna is a good one! If a project is sized to deliver 30 minutes of power to a given location, so that batteries can be charged to cover an entire 24 hour cycle, then it will become clear how much power has to be delivered through the atmosphere to a practical rectenna.
The numbers might be alarming.
There was concern about the relatively low levels of microwave energy that would be arriving from GEO stations.
Concern about what would be required for LEO delivery would be much greater.
On the ** other ** hand, folks at the poles of the Earth might not mind if microwave levels are greater, because reliable energy supplies are hard to come by up (and down) that way.
Polar satellites might be the right answer for customers in this locations, and fewer would be needed because they would be useful at both poles on the same orbit, although the value at a given pole would change throughout the year, as the Sun's apparent elevation changes.
That would certainly be a complicated Orbital Mechanics problem!
Thanks again for your reminder of the basics!
(th)

SpaceNut · 2021-02-25 08:54:49

The military use of the high ground means control on the ground where power delivry is required that we are not using human body count as brute forces to make it happen.

tahanson43206 · 2021-02-25 09:48:20

For SpaceNut re #45

When I first read your post here, I was a bit taken aback ... My thinking has been exclusively about civilian uses of LEO, and specifically the collection and distribution of solar power to ground stations, using a method similar to Starlink, but adapted for the purpose.

I've given your post some time, and I'm beginning to glimpse what you may have been thinking, that a constellation of solar power satellites would need to be protected from harm.

One Nation's military is NOT going to be able to protect anything. We are looking at another MAD situation, but this time it is the Kessler Syndrome, which could be brought on by just ONE explosion in orbit at precisely the right location.

The idea that ONE nation can protect itself has been obsolete since the invention of the atomic bomb.

The ONLY way the human race is going to be able to survive another century is to establish strong global agreements, supported by shared responsibility for maintaining complex global systems safely, and without conflict.

This topic is X-37 (I'm reminding myself) .... the topic represents research at the top level, and military funded research beneath that.

(th)

Mars_B4_Moon · 2022-06-29 10:18:02

US military's mysterious X-37B space plane zooms toward orbital record

https://www.space.com/x-37b-military-sp … ion-record

old discussion on Starship Troopers?
Militarization -Before- Colonization?
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=176

Mars_B4_Moon · 2022-10-04 06:36:19

Redwire back on acquisition trail with deal for QinetiQ Space
https://spacenews.com/redwire-back-on-a … tiq-space/

SpaceNut · 2022-11-12 18:49:52

It's back US military's X-37B space plane lands, ending record-breaking mystery mission

The X-37B resembles NASA's now-retired space shuttle but is much smaller, measuring just 29 feet (8.8 meters) from nose to tail. The space shuttle was 122 feet (37 m) long and was piloted — another key difference, as the X-37B is autonomous.
The U.S. Space Force is thought to own two X-37B vehicles, both of which were provided by Boeing. To date, the duo has flown six orbital missions, each of which is known by the signifier OTV ("Orbital Test Vehicle"):
OTV-1: Launched on April 22, 2010 and landed on Dec. 3, 2010 (duration 224 days).
OTV-2: March 5, 2011 to June 16, 2012 (468 days).
OTV-3: Dec. 11, 2012 to Oct. 17, 2014 (674 days).
OTV-4: May 20, 2015 to May 7, 2015 (718 days).
OTV-5: Sept. 7, 2017 to Oct. 27, 2019 (780 days).
OTV-6: May 17, 2020 to Nov. 12, 2022 (908 days).

I am surprised that content that might be considered classified was in the article along with other content which contained information for the experiments that it took with it to orbit.

SpaceNut · 2023-01-20 20:58:34

The X series of planes have been around for a long time and here is the latest.

This wild DARPA CRANE X-plane could be a giant leap in aircraft design

AA16Aap4.img?w=768&h=432&m=6

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#26 2006-11-19 21:48:35

Re: X-37

#27 2006-11-30 11:32:50

Re: X-37

#28 2006-12-02 07:21:16

Re: X-37

#29 2008-02-23 09:41:29

Re: X-37

#30 2011-11-28 19:50:26

Re: X-37

#31 2013-12-07 10:37:31

Re: X-37

#32 2015-03-30 22:06:49

Re: X-37

#33 2015-04-24 19:25:37

Re: X-37

#34 2015-04-25 11:22:59

Re: X-37

#35 2015-04-25 19:03:59

Re: X-37

#36 2015-04-26 14:14:23

Re: X-37

#37 2015-04-28 14:48:45

Re: X-37

#38 2015-07-14 20:39:35

Re: X-37

#39 2019-07-31 21:08:04

Re: X-37

#40 2020-05-07 14:36:28

Re: X-37

#41 2020-05-08 07:49:47

Re: X-37

#42 2020-05-17 07:27:13

Re: X-37

#43 2021-02-25 08:45:17

Re: X-37

#44 2021-02-25 08:51:55

Re: X-37

#45 2021-02-25 08:54:49

Re: X-37

#46 2021-02-25 09:48:20

Re: X-37

#47 2022-06-29 10:18:02

Re: X-37

#48 2022-10-04 06:36:19

Re: X-37

#49 2022-11-12 18:49:52

Re: X-37

#50 2023-01-20 20:58:34

Re: X-37

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