4 ms·

any idea why it seems the thruster is offside? [0] Doesn't that complicate mobility/control? [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-37#/media/File:X_37B_O

• jonathankoren 7y ago
  I don’t think anyone here has the knowledge to say. You’d normally want the thrust vector to pass through the center of mass. Maybe on orbit it hangs stuff off the starboard side.
• m0zg 7y ago
  Don't know why it's offset (probably just "form over function", it doesn't need to look pretty), but it's likely no big deal. Those thrusters are gimbaled anyway, it can point wherever you want, and is typically adjusted in realtime. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wtg_3Y4lFc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wtg_3Y4lFc
• wongarsu 7y ago
  Probably to fit something else there. The thruster can gimbal/pivot, and the software already has to measure the current center of mass of the vehicle because payloads etc affect it enough to make you go in circles. So accounting for an offset thruster might not even be a software change since it's a parameter the software already has to find automatically. Also note how the main engines of the space shuttles are really far offset at launch and fire at a weird angle to compensate.
• baybal2 7y ago
  It means that its centre of mass is significantly shifted, and that is likely mandated that it was built specifically to carry that payload.