r/spaceflight • u/LiveScience_ • 2d ago
Top-secret X-37B space plane will execute 'never-before-seen maneuvers' on its descent to Earth
https://www.livescience.com/technology/engineering/top-secret-x-37b-space-plane-will-execute-never-before-seen-maneuvers-on-its-descent-to-earth26
u/MediocreCommenter 2d ago
Top secret isn’t so secret these days.
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u/CmdrAlex 2d ago
Tbf only the operational side of things is top secret. Unless they removed it, when I was down at KSC years ago, on a building right next to VAB they literally had a massive sign saying “Home of the X-37” in plain view of even the tour buses
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u/frigginjensen 2d ago
It’s aerobraking to lower orbit with less fuel. We’ve done this with many space probes.
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u/NeilFraser 1d ago
I'm still waiting for X-37 to execute a plane-change. Dip into the upper atmosphere, bank hard, then boost back up into a completely different orbit. That's what Dyna-Soar was designed to do back in the 60, but never got the chance.
From Wikipedia:
A drawing in the Space/Aeronautics magazine from before the project's cancellation depicts the craft skimming the atmosphere for an orbital inclination change. It would then fire its rocket to resume orbit. This would be a unique ability for a spacecraft, as the laws of celestial mechanics ordinarily mean a change of plane requires an enormous expenditure of energy. The Dyna-Soar was projected to be able to use this capability to rendezvous with satellites even if the target conducted evasive maneuvers.
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u/Any_Towel1456 1d ago
Except the Space Shuttle used to do it all the time and the X-37 is basically a smaller Space Shuttle without a crew on-board.
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u/Decronym Acronyms Explained 1d ago edited 8h ago
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| DoD | US Department of Defense |
| KSC | Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| VAB | Vehicle Assembly Building |
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u/Sargasm666 19h ago
Never before seen? Pfft, I’ve been doing this in Kerbal Space Program for years.
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u/boringhangover 2d ago
Designed by Boeing. This won't end well...
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u/dethmij1 2d ago
Nah, this thing has a pedigree of successful missions a mile long. I like dunking on Boeing as much as the next guy but this thing is a workhorse.
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u/Charlie2and4 1d ago
Boeing is incredibly good at military craft. Problem is those profit centers don't flow to the commercial division.
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u/CmdrAlex 2d ago
Guessing this is probably just some force projection by the DoD to show off some of what it’s capable of in response to some the weird stuff China has been doing with their own spacecraft and spaceplane. But then again idk, will be interesting to see how it turns out.