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Is there any information or speculation on what kinds of package(s) it carries? With the payload bay the size of a pickup bed, it doesn't seem like it could ca

by jonah 12y ago

Is there any information or speculation on what kinds of package(s) it carries? With the payload bay the size of a pickup bed, it doesn't seem like it could carry much.

UnoriginalGuy 12y ago
You got me interested. So it seems like most surveillance satellites have traditionally been fairly large [0]. However much of that space is taken up by fuel storage tanks to place the payload into orbit, the actual guts of the thing is around the size of three adult men laying side by side. Now that is a 1970s satellite. Since then camera technology, battery technology, and circuitry has moved forward significantly. It would not surprise me if a 2014 intelligence platform could fit into the bed of a pickup truck. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(satellite)#mediaviewer/File:KH-4B_CORONA-J3.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(satellite)#mediaviewer/...
- techdragon 12y ago
  The real constraint is the optics, a visual spectrum ccd type imaging device needed some funky optics to fit in some of the svelte spy says that have become sufficiently public knowledge that we know how they did it. If it's taking instantaneous pictures of an area on the surface of the earth it's hard to avoid certain limits and I Remain convinced the X-37B is definitely not a traditional optical photographic intelligence gathering platform. If anything I'd hazard it's doing something like running experimental hardware they think could be used for *LINT of some kind but needs space testing to see if it's worth building a dedicated satellite or two for the stuff.
  - Gravityloss 12y ago
    You could also have advanced optics like multi aperture cameras that could fit the form factor better. Or collapsible structures.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
contingencies 12y ago
It's military. Other than surveillance devices, it likely contains weapons to destroy, disable, or physically acquire portions of other satellites or acquire/modify/inhibit their communications. Think deniable jamming, component frying, physical acquisition of embedded encryption electronics.
- codezero 12y ago
  I'm curious as to what anyone is speculating regarding the mission durations. It seems that a small reusable craft shouldn't necessarily have a requirement that it stay in orbit for one or two years. Since the three tests that were done all had long durations, I really wonder what the mission profile for this thing is. Some sort of readiness is needed, that is, it needs to wait in orbit, rather than relying on a launch schedule. Launch -> deploy a payload -> wait -> capture a payload (either the one already deployed or some other one) -> return to Earth The longest shuttle mission was 17 days, and they deployed and recaptured two satellites in that time. It's possible these are used as a platform for servicing existing Air Force/government assets in space. If you look at Hubble as an example, it required servicing every 2-4 years. Space instruments suffer pretty steady degradation, and various transient events can cause that to degradation to accelerate. If you spend a few billion to launch an instrument, and you need to replace it entirely every few years, you're spending a lot of money on replacements, but it may only be small parts that need to be replaced or repaired. Having a "pick up truck" of modular, drop-in components waiting in orbit could greatly extend the life of surveillance equipment and reduce the amount of downtime (either out of commission, or operating with reduced coverage).
  - pokstad 12y ago
    http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_Express http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_Express
- arrrg 12y ago
  Wouldn’t that be way too trackable? Objects in Earth orbit the size of this shuttle should be very easy to track. In fact, it’s right here on this tracking website: http://www.n2yo.com/?s=39025 http://www.n2yo.com/?s=39025 Consequently we should already know with some certainty whether this shuttle approached any other satellites closely – so at least we wouldn’t need to speculate about whether or not part of this shuttle’s mission is to get up close and personal with (non-American) satellites. Moving around in space is very challenging and this small thing can certainly not do any miracles, so any change in orbit would be not very large. I doubt this little thing can dramatically change the size and inclination of its orbit – and with that limited manoeuvrability it should be easily observable.

by jonah 12y ago

Is there any information or speculation on what kinds of package(s) it carries? With the payload bay the size of a pickup bed, it doesn't seem like it could carry much.

UnoriginalGuy 12y ago

You got me interested. So it seems like most surveillance satellites have traditionally been fairly large [0]. However much of that space is taken up by fuel storage tanks to place the payload into orbit, the actual guts of the thing is around the size of three adult men laying side by side. Now that is a 1970s satellite. Since then camera technology, battery technology, and circuitry has moved forward significantly. It would not surprise me if a 2014 intelligence platform could fit into the bed of a pickup truck. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(satellite)#mediaviewer/File:KH-4B_CORONA-J3.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(satellite)#mediaviewer/...

techdragon 12y ago
The real constraint is the optics, a visual spectrum ccd type imaging device needed some funky optics to fit in some of the svelte spy says that have become sufficiently public knowledge that we know how they did it. If it's taking instantaneous pictures of an area on the surface of the earth it's hard to avoid certain limits and I Remain convinced the X-37B is definitely not a traditional optical photographic intelligence gathering platform. If anything I'd hazard it's doing something like running experimental hardware they think could be used for *LINT of some kind but needs space testing to see if it's worth building a dedicated satellite or two for the stuff.
- Gravityloss 12y ago
  You could also have advanced optics like multi aperture cameras that could fit the form factor better. Or collapsible structures.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

contingencies 12y ago

It's military. Other than surveillance devices, it likely contains weapons to destroy, disable, or physically acquire portions of other satellites or acquire/modify/inhibit their communications. Think deniable jamming, component frying, physical acquisition of embedded encryption electronics.

codezero 12y ago
I'm curious as to what anyone is speculating regarding the mission durations. It seems that a small reusable craft shouldn't necessarily have a requirement that it stay in orbit for one or two years. Since the three tests that were done all had long durations, I really wonder what the mission profile for this thing is. Some sort of readiness is needed, that is, it needs to wait in orbit, rather than relying on a launch schedule. Launch -> deploy a payload -> wait -> capture a payload (either the one already deployed or some other one) -> return to Earth The longest shuttle mission was 17 days, and they deployed and recaptured two satellites in that time. It's possible these are used as a platform for servicing existing Air Force/government assets in space. If you look at Hubble as an example, it required servicing every 2-4 years. Space instruments suffer pretty steady degradation, and various transient events can cause that to degradation to accelerate. If you spend a few billion to launch an instrument, and you need to replace it entirely every few years, you're spending a lot of money on replacements, but it may only be small parts that need to be replaced or repaired. Having a "pick up truck" of modular, drop-in components waiting in orbit could greatly extend the life of surveillance equipment and reduce the amount of downtime (either out of commission, or operating with reduced coverage).
- pokstad 12y ago
  http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_Express http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_Express
arrrg 12y ago
Wouldn’t that be way too trackable? Objects in Earth orbit the size of this shuttle should be very easy to track. In fact, it’s right here on this tracking website: http://www.n2yo.com/?s=39025 http://www.n2yo.com/?s=39025 Consequently we should already know with some certainty whether this shuttle approached any other satellites closely – so at least we wouldn’t need to speculate about whether or not part of this shuttle’s mission is to get up close and personal with (non-American) satellites. Moving around in space is very challenging and this small thing can certainly not do any miracles, so any change in orbit would be not very large. I doubt this little thing can dramatically change the size and inclination of its orbit – and with that limited manoeuvrability it should be easily observable.