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Super Secret Small Spaceplane preparing for another launch
Anything and everything anytime
The next launch of the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B space plane, a robotic spacecraft used to fly classified payloads into Earth orbit, has been delayed until next month pending final approvals, SPACE.com has learned.
The secretive X-37B space plane, an Orbital Test Vehicle that resembles a miniature space shuttle, is now expected to be boosted in early December by a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It marks the latest in a series of delays for the unmanned space plane.
The mission, called OTV-3, had been pushed back from Oct. 25 to Nov. 13, and then to Nov. 27.
It appears that the evolution of the X-37 will ultimately lead to a bigger vehicle that can transport astronauts into orbit, and very likely the International Space Station (ISS).
Variants
X-37A
The X-37A was the initial NASA version of the spacecraft; the X-37A Approach and Landing Test Vehicle (ALTV) was used in drop glide tests in 2005 and 2006.
X-37B
The X-37B is a modified version of the NASA X-37A, intended for the U.S. Air Force. It conducted orbital test missions in 2010 and 2011.
X-37C
In 2011, Boeing announced plans for a scaled-up variant of the X-37B, referring to the spacecraft as the X-37C. The X-37C would be between 165% and 180% larger than the X-37B, allowing it to transport up to six astronauts inside a pressurized compartment housed in the cargo bay. Its proposed launch vehicle is the Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle. The X-37C may compete with Boeing’s CST-100 commercial space capsule.
2012-11-23 14:20:04
Source: http://markosun.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/super-secret-small-spaceplane-preparing-for-another-launch/
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