Monday 16 January 2012

X-37B spaceplane 'spying on China'

  • Mission: Described as a re-usable testbed for new sensors and other space technologies.
  • Length: 9m (29ft); Wingspan: 4.5m (14ft); Height: 3m (9.5ft); Mass: 5t (11,000lb)
  • Origins: Started as a Nasa project in 1999 before being handed to the military in 2006.
  • Flight history: First vehicle launched in April, 2010, and landed eight months later.
  • Cost: The budget line for the X-37B programme continues to be classified information.
 America's classified X-37B spaceplane is probably spying on China, according to a report in Spaceflight magazine. So begins 2012 another butthurt year for America!



Also for other worldending 2012 issues check out www.2012-endoftheworld.com/ done by a fellow blogger


 


"Space-to-space surveillance is a whole new ball game made possible by a finessed group of sensors and sensor suites, which we think the X-37B may be using to maintain a close watch on China's nascent space station," said Spaceflight editor Dr David Baker.

"The parallels with X-37B are clear," Dr Baker says in Spaceflight, the long established magazine of the British Interplanetary Society.
"With a period differential of about 19 seconds, the two vehicles will migrate toward or against each other, converging or diverging, roughly every 170 orbits."

The unpiloted vehicle was launched into orbit by the US Air Force in March last year and has stay there ever since with no sign of re-entry.
The Pentagon are keeping shtum about its mission but amateur space trackers have noted how its path around the globe is nearly identical to unmaned China's spacelab, Tiangong-1 and specualtion as to americas intent to lurkmoar is spreading like wildfire!

Built by Boeing, the Air Force's robotic craft is about 9m long and has a payload bay volume similar to that of a small partyvan. But what sekret James Bond stuff goes in the payload bay, the USAF will not discuss. The current mission was launched on an Atlas rocket and put into a low orbit, a little over 300km up, with an inclination of 42.79 degrees with respect to the equator - an unusual profile for a US military mission which would normally go into an orbit that circles the poles.

“A Challenger Appears”
Brian Weeden is a technical adviser to the Secure World Foundation and a former orbital analyst with the USAF. He published his own assessment last year of the X-37B's capabilities and role as a platform to trial technologies before they are incorporated into a full-up spy satellite. Mr Weeden thinks the Middle East is a more likely target for any new sensors that the X-37B might be carrying.

"Is it spying on Tiangong-1? I really don't think so. I think the fact that their orbits intersect every now and again - that's just a co-incidence. If the US really wanted to observe Tiangong, it has enough assets to do that without using X-37B."

stealth mode needed....

The middle east currently pwning America's spy satellite.

32 comments:

  1. Sounds like something fishy is going on with it and LOL at the last photo

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  2. The possibilities are endless...

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  3. Let's hope this one doesn't get taken down by hackers...

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  4. Serious stuff man.... and yes, hackers will be a threat..

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  5. imma be the only one and say it. hope it happens :D i wanna see something new :D

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  6. more funding for space exploration. I wanna visit the stars in my lifetime

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    1. Look up at night time, there you go.

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  7. Space to space spying, do you think China would be ballsy enough to weaponise any space station?

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  8. I just want 2012 to come and go so I can laugh at all the conspiracy theorists

    Weird Funny News

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  9. I really want to see this thing go up. Amazing

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  10. wow! mind blowing. Very interesting read, thanks for sharing!

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  11. Well, that's just how the world works. Don't have any ideas, steal from someone else...or just spy on them, to be able to counter their acts.

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  12. Ironically, I used to call the back seat of my car "a re-usable testbed for new sensors and other space technologies"

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  13. Didn't Bruce Willis and his mates fly to that asteroid in one of these in Armageddon?

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  14. Modern spying sounds expensive!

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  15. I love the post and blog, it's actually awesome, Let's hope this one doesn't get taken down by hackers...
    bdw come thru my blog and follow back like u said u would thanks

    http://chuchu-chulala.blogspot.com

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  16. I want one to spy on my ex's house.

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  17. I want one to spy on my current GF :S

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  18. I want to spy on everyone haha! now following, check my page!

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  19. Don't they have anything better to spend their money on?

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  20. That's an impressive looking thing

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  21. I wonder if they could see through my window?

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  22. Now that would be useful to have.

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