9 ms·
US Space Force reveals first look at secretive X-37B space plane in orbit
- hindsightbias 2y agoWhen even your secret programs have to do marketing. Don’t cancel me bro!
- fernandopj 2y agoone would be excused to think you made this account just for the sake of aptronym and comment, but alas, 3k+ karma
- bryant 2y agoIn fairness, it's an insightful comment. The behavior of plenty of agencies is likely to be erratic or at the very least novel in the current climate.
- mitthrowaway2 2y agoIn the book Skunk Works, Ben Rich laments that Lockheed was often passed over for contracts and missions because their achievements were so classified that the various branches of the military didn't know that things like stealth technology were possible, let alone already in production. Sometimes weren't even invited to bid on projects to develop technology that they'd already developed. Marketing of secret projects is a tricky business!
- justahuman74 2y agoWas it Lockheed who simply ran a regular marketing campaign for NGAD and then later scrubbed references to it
- baranul 2y agoThat's exactly what I was thinking too. With all the chainsaws on display and rumors of deep cuts, makes sense for them to explain a bit to regulars about why they exist and how well things are going.
- davidw 2y agoI can't be the only one who, when I read "space force" hears a deep, reverb-heavy, Buck Rogers kind of voice going "spaaaaaaaace foooooooorce"
- walrus01 2y agoa pretty good satire of the whole thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Force_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Force_(TV_series)
- bagels 2y agoSpace Force song written just after the announcement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AUXpnB065o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AUXpnB065o
- cantagi 2y agoschmoyoho are incredible at making these songs, and so quickly after each event. I'm amazed they usually only get 10s of thousands of views, with the odd exception over 1m.
- psunavy03 2y agoThere were legitimate reasons for spitting USSF as its own service. The only reason people made fun of it was because Trump signed the order for it.
- dylan604 2y agoThat was not the only reason, but for one that says that they will probably not accept the other reasons.
- Rebelgecko 2y agoThe show has basically 0 relation to what the Space Force actually does
- dylan604 2y ago
- atkailash 2y ago[dead]
- metadat 2y agoWhy might it be desirable to have an observation craft so far away from the earth? I'm having a hard time imagining the advantage compared to being a bit closer, unless it's a more energy-efficient parking situation while the vehicle isn't in active use.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- QuarterReptile 2y agoI assume better survivability against anti-satellite weapons.
- prpl 2y agomaybe observing satellites, in real time, in multiple orbits, and yeah, maybe just free parking (and testing orbital transitions).
- aaron695 2y ago[dead]
- SkyPuncher 2y agoMy understanding is it’s on an offset elliptical orbit. This is essentially the farthest point away from earth with the other end of orbit being very close to Earth. From a tactical perspective, that means this can interact with basically any other satellite.
- samplatt 2y agoWith a far point so far away from Earth it also means that it requires only tiny amounts of fuel for major orbit changes.
- justahuman74 2y agoMy orbital mechanics is (like most people) weak, is this intended as a generalized physical threat to other satellites?
- mvkel 2y agoThat looks... out there. Is it parked at a Lagrange point?
- 0_____0 2y agoArticle mentions that it's in a highly elliptical orbit.
- acomjean 2y agoThe wings say USAF, which is Air Force. Though clearly in space…
- moandcompany 2y agoThe US Space Force was part of the US Air Force until just a few years ago, and a around 75 years ago the US Air Force was the US Army Air Corps.
- Rebelgecko 2y agoI think it still belongs to the Air Force RCO
- unsnap_biceps 2y agoArs previously covered some additional information on the X-37B https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/10/the-us-militarys-x-37b-spaceplane-is-preparing-for-a-novel-space-maneuver/ https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/10/the-us-militarys-x-37b...
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- lahcim2000 2y agoHow far from earth are they to took that picture?
- bagels 2y agoPretty far. In LEO it's hard to see much of Earth in one shot since you're still so close. https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/x-37.htm https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/x-37.htm This source indicates an 38,000 km apogee, which is is about 1/10 the distance to the moon, and just barely beyond geostationary.
- deadbabe 2y agoImagine the next space station being that high up.
- nxobject 2y agoGiven the military heritage of the Space Shuttle, I imagine this is what a hypothetical next generation civilian Space Shuttle might have looked like, too.
- justinator 2y agoAre there any books to read that talk about the military missions of the Space Shuttle?
- blankx32 2y agoMost missions are still classified but some information on general shuttle sources, into the black book and space above us podcast are interesting sources.
- bagels 2y agoHow big is the payload bay on this thing? The whole craft is only 29 feet long, so it's not carrying a Hubble in to orbit.
- dylan604 2y agoThe NRO doesn't need this thing to lift its birds into orbit. Keyhole satellites have gotten rides on Deltas and Titans, so probably going to be sticking their thumbs out in the direction of SpaceX pretty soon.
- wdb 2y ago[flagged]
- aaronbrethorst 2y agoThe X-37B was lifted into orbit by a Falcon Heavy...so yes. See how that works?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- gunian 2y agoimagine if noah had this during the deluge mtsm
- tonyhart7 2y agocant wait for space marine branch
- euroderf 2y agoService guarantees citizenship! -Starship Troopers
- brylie 2y agoHow does it have enough Delta-V to get into that distant of an orbit? Is it able to maneuver to different orbits and inclination? Is it able to return to earth? Or, is it more of a satellite than a “plane”? This is my first time learning about this space plane, so apologies if my questions are naive.
- 15155 2y agoBy using an Atlas V booster.
- DocTomoe 2y agoIt has been to space several times, and there are photos and videos of it returning, shuttle-style on a runway. By carefully timing boosting burns at different points in the orbit, you can change the orbit to become highly inclined - go prograde at the periapsis, and your raise the apogee. From the image, I guess they are in a Molniar orbit [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molniya_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molniya_orbit
- brylie 2y agoWow, thanks for sharing! I've never heard of Molniya orbit. Very interesting indeed.
- appointment 2y agoThis flight was launched with a Falcon Heavy, that is why it has more energy to reach high orbit than the previous launches with an Atlas V booster. When you are in a highly eccentric orbit (meaning the point in the orbit farthest from Earth (apogee) is much higher than the lowest point (perigee)) like this one there are several maneuvers you can do to significantly change your orbit with relatively little energy. The article describes some of the things they are testing. A small breaking burn at apogee will lower the perigee into the upper atmosphere and they can then do aerobreaking (use atmospheric drag to lose energy) to slow down enough to land.
- brylie 2y ago
- entropyneur 2y agoA mere month ago I would have been excited for the new US defence tech.
- sour-taste 2y agoInterestingly since Space Force was created by Trump who sees it as a prestige project and it depends on Musk's SpaceX for launches this is probably one of the most secure agencies in the current administration.