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"In the early hours of Dec. 3, 2010, the X-37B became the first U.S. space vehicle to make an autonomous runway landing from orbit." I find this snippet far mor
by c1sc0 16y ago
"In the early hours of Dec. 3, 2010, the X-37B became the first U.S. space vehicle to make an autonomous runway landing from orbit." I find this snippet far more interesting than the speculation about what the mission was about. Maybe I don't even want to know what it was doing, but it's good to see that the military is still pushing technology development. Also see: autonomous drones.
- pedrocr 16y agoThe soviet shuttle imitation did this in its only flight back in 1988: The automated landing took place on a runway at Baikonur Cosmodrome where, despite a lateral wind speed of 61.2 kilometres per hour (38.0 mph), it landed only 3 metres (9.8 ft) laterally and 10 metres (33 ft) longitudinally from the target mark.[4] The unmanned flight was the first time that a spacecraft of this size and complexity had been launched, completed maneuvers in orbit, re-entered the atmosphere, and landed under automatic guidance. If the figures are true and not just Soviet propaganda, that's one amazing automated landing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_(spacecraft)#Flight_into_space http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_(spacecraft)#Flight_into_...