X-37B

[Wjolcz]

I think that close encounters or even actual rendezvouses are plausible. If you had a spy sat and saw another one slowly approach it would you do anything? Running away is a waste of fuel since the X-37 has so much of it. Not only that, changing orbit by "running away" really messes with the objectives and makes your sat run out of fuel sooner or later.

I really like the idea of it just scaring away other satellites like a shepherd dog scaring sheep, or something. Especially since it's reusable. Not many spy sats can do that.

Edited August 19, 2019 by Wjolcz

[Nightside]

Maybe it just parks itself in front of another sat’s camera/sensor  and blocks the view. Like a tall guy with a cowboy hat at a concert.

[kerbiloid]

7 hours ago, Nightside said:

Maybe it just parks itself in front of another sat’s camera/sensor  and blocks the view. Like a tall guy with a cowboy hat at a concert.

Then it should wear a cloaking device.

Spoiler

 

[Ultimate Steve]

The declassified reports will be fun to read in a few decades.

[kerbiloid]

X-37B gets a job?

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-memorandum-launch-spacecraft-containing-space-nuclear-systems/

(Briefly: USA starts getting into orbitaL RTG, reactors, and other spacenukes.)

Edited August 21, 2019 by kerbiloid

[coyotesfrontier]

On 8/19/2019 at 6:43 PM, Nightside said:

Maybe it just parks itself in front of another sat’s camera/sensor  and blocks the view. Like a tall guy with a cowboy hat at a concert.

I like to think that it's retrieving enemy satellites and taking them to Earth for study. Maybe it has a robotic saw to remove solar panels, so the sat will fit inside.

[mikegarrison]

718 days! New record.

[kerbiloid]

4 hours ago, coyotesfrontier said:

I like to think that it's retrieving enemy satellites and taking them to Earth for study. Maybe it has a robotic saw to remove solar panels, so the sat will fit inside.

And another arm with a cable to attach it to the satellite outlet and recharge for free.
Also a drill with pump to steal fuel.

Edited August 27, 2019 by kerbiloid

[Scotius]

Probably just a bunch of material science samples DARPA doesn't want anyone else to know about for the next couple decades.

[mikegarrison]

Oops, I totally forgot to come back to this thread when they passed the two year point. Which they did.

[YNM]

1 hour ago, mikegarrison said:

... Totally forgot to come back to this thread when they passed the two year point. Which they did.

I just hope it's not the spacecraft malfunctioning.

[Guest]

I mean... it’s a testbed for space fighter development surely 

[mikegarrison]

X-37B landed on Sunday!

780 days in orbit.

[tater]

9 minutes ago, mikegarrison said:

X-37B landed on Sunday!

780 days in orbit.

Didn't remember this thread existed so I posted the landing in the SpaceX thread (since it was lofted by F9).

Cool bird... gotta wonder what it's up to all that time

 

[kerbiloid]

780 = 2 x 365 + 50

So, its purpose was definitely to expose something for exactly 2 years, (+50 is for systems check and so on), otherwise it would be, say, 230 or 580 or 820 depending on actual progress of a process of, say, crystals growing.

Any material samples of any secrecy could be easily exposed on ISS (unlikely insidious Russkies would put on spacesuits while others are sleeping and steal a panel from the external truss).
The same about electronics-schmelectronics.

The only thing I can see to be exposed for accurate 2 years in the standalone mode is an orbital nuke.

***

Together with almost pointless Orion and LOP-G this looks like parts of future high-orbital station with nukes, using Orion as supply ship.

Edited October 29, 2019 by kerbiloid

[Nothalogh]

18 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

using Orion as supply ship

That is the least plausible part of your entire farcical post.

On the other hand, the only thing that all of that would achieve is being a colossal moneypit for all of the contractors and politicians involved, which is actually somewhat plausible.

[kerbiloid]

3 hours ago, Nothalogh said:

That is the least plausible part of your entire farcical post.

Despite of your farcical response, that is the only option to supply a high-orbital station at all. Because CST-100 and Dragon poorly can into high sky, they are for low-crawlers.

Edited October 30, 2019 by kerbiloid

[Wjolcz]

6 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

Despite of your farcical response, that is the only option to supply a high-orbital station at all. Because CST-100 and Dragon poorly can into high sky, they are for low-crawlers.

Shipping a nuke to an international station (so I'm guessing other nations are in on the conspiracy against whoever else is left down there on Earth) with an already overweight spaceship like Orion, which can barely get there btw, makes SLS without any missions at all look shockingly sensible.

[kerbiloid]

1 hour ago, Wjolcz said:

Shipping a nuke to an international station

Why nukes, orions, and ISS?

A "30 000" km orbit station, tested as LOP-G.
Orion as a supply ship to replace crew once per several months. It can into air at 11 km/s.
Nukes tested in vacuum on X-37 and later delivered to the high station by some single-use tug.

ISS is not at all in this context.

Edited October 30, 2019 by kerbiloid

[Wjolcz]

13 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:

ISS is not at all in this context.

LOP-G is meant to be international. That's what I was referring to.

[kerbiloid]

3 minutes ago, Wjolcz said:

LOP-G is meant to be international. That's what I was referring to.

LOP-G design modules tested in deep space, not LOP-G itself.

Edited October 30, 2019 by kerbiloid

[mikegarrison]

I do get why people assume it is some kind of weapon testing. I mean, it is the US Air Force and paid for by military budget.

But the Air Force does a lot of basic research too. I have no reason to doubt the official explanation that they are conducting long-term space orbital endurance testing. My guess is: "materials that they might want to use on spy sats but want to make sure will hold up to long exposure to orbital conditions".

[wumpus]

3 hours ago, mikegarrison said:

I do get why people assume it is some kind of weapon testing. I mean, it is the US Air Force and paid for by military budget.

But the Air Force does a lot of basic research too. I have no reason to doubt the official explanation that they are conducting long-term space orbital endurance testing. My guess is: "materials that they might want to use on spy sats but want to make sure will hold up to long exposure to orbital conditions".

About four hours before your post:

 

Scott points out that NASA typically takes anything that needs space testing up to the ISS.  But for anything the DoD doesn't want a cosmonaut waving a cell phone around the thing and taking all sorts of measurements, there's X-37B.

[Nothalogh]

4 hours ago, wumpus said:

Scott points out that NASA typically takes anything that needs space testing up to the ISS.

Not only that, but NASA is not allowed, by its charter, to do classified stuff.

This was one of the reasons why Project Orion had to seek military funding, and thus prove military applicability.

So DARPA needs an orbital platform to do orbital DARPA things.

[Guest]

If Space Shuttle is any indication, launching classified payloads are OK, though. Shuttle had launched several.